Trump just announced his Gag Rule, designed to block Planned Parenthood from Title X funding, the nation’s program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care. Its consequences will be devastating to health care.
Trump’s Gag Rule means:
– Doctors and nurses across the country are forbidden from referring patients for abortion. Even if someone asks for information, even if their health is at risk, even if a safe and legal abortion is their best option.
– It removes the guarantee that you’re getting full and accurate information about your health care from your doctor. For nearly two decades, Title X has been clear: Health care providers cannot withhold information from you about your pregnancy options. This new rule means they can.
– Patients who use Title X won’t get the information, birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and other care they need at PP. Planned Parenthood Health Centers serve 41% of all patient nationwide using Title X and 63% of patients using Title X in Ohio. This will particularly impact low-income women who do not have access to quality health care otherwise.
Last year, President Trump and other lawmakers gave an ultimatum: stop providing abortions or we’ll get Congress to block access to care at Planned Parenthood health centers.
Abortion is a legal right and an essential health care service. One in four women in this country will have had an abortion by the age of 45, and nobody should be shamed or stigmatized by politicians (or anyone!) for getting the care they need.
Here are 3 ways you can help:
– Submit an official comment to HHS.
– Using the embedded script, write a Letter to the Editor.
– Join Planned Parenthood in Columbus for a rally & press conference on Wednesday May 30 at 12PM at the Ohio Supreme Court Building, 66 S. Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215. Facebook details here. Sign up here to join a carpool from all over Ohio.