Cuts hit Planned Parenthood as administration goes after Title X

What you already know: In the latest of a series of drastic cuts impacting the likes of Medicaid, scientific research and USAID, the Trump Administration is holding back $35 million in Title X family planning program funding from Planned Parenthood clinics across 20 states. This funding is earmarked for non-abortion services, including birth control, cancer screenings and STI testing.

Why? POLITICO recently reported that nine Planned Parenthood state affiliates received notice that their funding would be “temporarily withheld” due to “possible violations” of executive orders and federal civil rights laws, including promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. This also isn’t Trump’s first attack on Title X: during his first term, his administration issued rules banning Title X clinics from discussing abortion as an option, and allowed funding for faith-based centers that didn’t offer birth control.

What it means: Title X funding in particular supports low-income and uninsured people, a demographic which is predicted to rise to nearly 9% over the next decade. According to the Commonwealth Fund, 30% of women ages 19 to 44 are underinsured, meaning receiving health care comes with high out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. “This is a direct and targeted attack on people with low incomes and people who are underinsured and uninsured,” Dr. Jamila Perritt, president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement.

What happens now: According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, Title X funding has supported more than 4,000 clinics that have provided broad services including cancer screenings and STI treatments. More than 75% of Planned Parenthood affiliates rely on this funding, and in 2023, there were more than 1.5 million visits to Title X-funded Planned Parenthood clinics, according to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “We know what happens when health care providers cannot use Title X funding,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement. “People across the country suffer, cancers go undetected, access to birth control is severely reduced, and the nation’s STI crisis worsens.”