New research out this week shows that the Trump-Pence administration’s dangerous new gag rule could mean 41 percent of Oregonians who rely on the nation’s family planning program would lose access to essential reproductive health care like birth control, cancer screenings, and STD testing and treatment at their preferred healthcare provider.
The rule makes it illegal for doctors, nurses, hospitals, community health centers and any other provider in the Title X program to tell their patients how they can safely and legally access abortion. It would also introduce new restrictions designed to keep patients across Oregon from accessing birth control at Planned Parenthood health centers.
Title X is the nation’s only program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care, and serves more than 4 million people each year. Planned Parenthood health centers serve 41 percent of the people who rely on Title X for care in Oregon, meaning the new restrictions would have a devastating impact on care across the state.
“This research clearly shows what medical experts and people across Oregon already know: Planned Parenthood is part of the fabric of our state, and the Trump-Pence rule would be devastating for the 41 percent of Title X patients who rely on us for basic health care,” said Laurel Swerdlow, Interim Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon. “No woman should be denied basic information about her health care — including safe and legal abortion. The result of this rule is that people will not get the health care they need. We will never stop fighting for Planned Parenthood patients, and to ensure that all people have access to the full range of reproductive health care.”
Findings of the new research released today by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee show:
- In 2015, Oregon had 81 Title X-funded sites operated by different types of agencies.
- Title X-funded sites delivered contraceptive care to 48,990 women in Oregon in 2015, which helped these patients prevent 10,500 unintended pregnancies and 3,500 abortions.
- 41 percent of women who received contraceptive care from a Title X-funded provider in Oregon were served by Planned Parenthood in 2015.
- If Planned Parenthood were excluded from Title X, all other types of Title X-funded sites in Oregon would have to increase their contraceptive client caseloads by 69 percent to serve the women who currently obtain contraceptive care from Planned Parenthood health centers.
The rule has been met with widespread opposition by the American people, the medical community, lawmakers and public health experts. New polling from Hart Research Associates showed overwhelming opposition to the Trump-Pence administration’s efforts to take away women’s basic rights and health care. Major medical associations — including the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — oppose this rule. More than 200 members of Congress — including Oregon’s entire Democratic congressional delegation — and more than 110 public health organizations have come out in opposition to the gag policy.
The proposed Trump-Pence gag rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, would do three main things:
- Make it illegal for doctors, nurses, hospitals and community health centers across the country that participate in the Title X program to refer their patients for safe, legal abortion.
- Impose new restrictions designed to make it impossible for patients to get birth control or preventive care from reproductive healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood.
- Remove the guarantee that people are getting full and accurate information about their health care from their doctors. For nearly two decades, Title X law has been clear: Healthcare providers cannot withhold information from you about your pregnancy options. This rule means they can.
