Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in an interview that President Donald Trump’s decision to prevent Title X family planning funding from going to abortion providers could prevent women from getting an education or having a career.
“Forcing doctors to keep information from patients about their health options is dangerous and just plain wrong,” Warren told Glamour magazine over the weekend.
“This is about personal liberty, but it’s also about women having full economic participation in this country,” Warren said. “Women who can’t get access to basic reproductive service health care services have fewer economic opportunities going forward.”
“An unplanned pregnancy can derail an education or the early steps of a career,” Warren said.
.@realdonaldtrump's gag rule is designed to kick providers like Planned Parenthood out of Title X & hold women hostage to the GOP's agenda. Title X patients won't be able to learn about all their reproductive options – worsening health care disparities & reducing access to care.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 18, 2018
As Breitbart News reported:
According to the executive action, Planned Parenthood and other abortion vendors would lose the funding they have been receiving under Title X, a program that provides about $260 million annually in federal funding for birth control and other services that are categorized as “family planning” – if they continue to perform abortions and refer women for abortion as a means of family planning. Those funds are to be redirected to other facilities that provide more comprehensive healthcare services.
The rule will be administered by Health and Human Services (HHS), which is in charge of the Title X program.
“The White House says this change fulfills Trump’s ‘promise to continue to improve women’s health and ensure that federal funds are not used to fund the abortion industry in violation of the law,’” the Glamour article said.
“Critics call it a ‘gag rule’ that prevents caregivers from giving patients full information and makes good on Trump’s vow to defund Planned Parenthood,” the Glamour article said.
Breitbart News reported that Cecile Richards — who recently stepped down as the president of Planned Parenthood after 12 years at the helm of the nation’s largest abortion provider — told National Public Radio (NPR) that the new rule would prevent health care providers from even speaking about abortion to pregnant patients.
Richards told NPR the rule “gags providers from even helping women [know] about abortion or even telling women that it’s legal or that it’s available in this country.”
But, according to the Federalist, that is not accurate:
If implemented, this rule change would require abortion providers to prove there is a “bright line of physical as well as financial separation” between abortion services and other services. It would also prohibit facilities that receive Title X funds from referring patients to specific abortion centers, although it would not bar employees from counseling women about abortion in general.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement pushing back on Richards, Warren, and other critics for using the “gag rule” label.
“The new proposed rule would not cut funds from the Title X program,” Sanders said in the statement. “Instead, it would ensure that taxpayers do not indirectly fund abortions.”
“Contrary to recent media reports, HHS’s proposal does not include the so-called ‘gag rule’ on counseling about abortion that was part of the Reagan administration’s Title X rule.”
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