Trump-Pence Administration Introduces Nationwide Gag Rule
Tonight, the Trump-Pence administration released a nationwide gag rule, marking a radical departure from how health care has operated in
The proposed rule, issued by the
* 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 health care providers like
* 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: Health care providers cannot withhold information from you about your pregnancy options. This rule means they can.
Additionally, the proposed rule includes a slew of additional changes designed to dismantle the program -- including a new policy stipulating that Title X projects do not have to provide every effective and acceptable method of birth control. This is a sharp departure from the way the program has been operating, in which HHS put an emphasis on ensuring women have access to all 18
The rule also re-defines what "low-income" means -- expanding it to now include women whose employers no longer allow them to have their birth control covered by health insurance -- in an apparent attempt to rectify the gap in care caused by the administration's previous rule on insurance coverage of birth control. However, the rule does not stipulate any additional resources or funding to help the program or providers meet this increased need.
The rule is expected to include a 60-day comment period after the yet to be determined date it is posted to the official federal register.
Statement from
* This is the worst attack on women's health and rights we've seen from the Trump-Pence administration. No woman should be denied basic information about her health care -- including safe and legal abortion. A president who doesn't know the difference between HPV and HIV should not be making reproductive health decisions for millions of Americans.
* "The result of this rule is that people will not get the health care they need. They won't get birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, or even general women's health exams. Everyone, regardless of their income or where they live, deserves the best medical care and information available. Under this rule, they won't get it. This is one of the largest-scale and most dangerous attacks we've seen on women's rights and reproductive health care in this country. This policy is straight out of the Handmaid's Tale -- yet, it's taking effect in America in 2018.
The domestic gag rule has never gone into effect in
Although
Title X is a decades-old popular and effective program designed to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, how much money they make, and whether or not they have health insurance, has access to basic preventive reproductive health care like birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and well-woman exams. It has received bipartisan support from
The domestic gag rule wouldn't just affect
Title X serves a racially and ethnically diverse patient base: Out of the four million family planning clients served by Title X, more than one-third are Hispanic or Latino, 13 percent have limited proficiency in English, and at least a third are people of color. Racial or ethnic bias, along with language barriers, can already make health care difficult to access and an attack on Title X will limit health care options even further.
Key facts about Title X and
* According to latest estimates,
* In 14 states,
* More than half of
* Research has shown that
* Providing the full range of birth control methods on-site;
* Filling longer-term contraceptive prescriptions; and
* Offering shorter wait times and expanded health center hours.
* Community health centers will not be able to fill the huge void if
* Community health centers themselves say there is no way they could fill the gap if
* The idea that other providers could absorb
* Across the entire community health center network, nearly half of sites served fewer than 10 contraceptive patients annually.
* In fact, many of the lists of "replacement" providers don't even provide reproductive health care. In
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