Press Releases
05/18/2021
Attorney General Tong Joins Coalition in Support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Effort to Undo Trump-Era Title X Gag Rule
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 23 state attorneys general today in submitting a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) applauding the agency for its Proposed Rule to undo the Trump-Pence Administration’s harmful 2019 Title X Gag Rule. The Proposed Rule will rectify many of the harms the 2019 Rule caused women, those who live in rural areas, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community.
“This reversal of the Trump Administration’s restrictive and harmful Title X Gag Rule is an important step forward for over 40,000 individuals in Connecticut and millions of Americans who rely on Title X clinics for safe, affordable health care,” Attorney General Tong said. “Women have the right to health care free from politics. I applaud the Biden Administration for their commitment to preserving health care and reproductive rights for all Americans.”
The Title X program funds not only family planning counseling and access to various contraceptive methods, but also critical screenings for high blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, as well as cervical and breast cancer. The 2019 Rule led to a dramatic loss of Title X providers nationwide. Due to this loss of providers, the number of clients served by the program dropped by 60 percent from 2018 to 2020. As a result, low-income, uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities’ access to Title X family planning services has decreased.
Prior to the gag rule, clinics providing family planning services to low income people in Connecticut received $2.5 million in Title X funding, serving over 45,000 patients. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England elected to stop receiving Title X funding as a result of the rule.
HHS’s Proposed Rule would put the Title X program back on track to providing underserved communities with quality and accessible medical care. For example, the rule would allow Title X clinics to:
- Share information with patients about their reproductive healthcare choices and available, high quality providers;
- Provide a referral for an abortion, if requested by the patient;
- Provide pregnant patients referrals to prenatal care, if requested by the patient; and
- Remove the current required physical and financial separation of Title X funded services from abortion care.
In today’s letter, the attorneys general support HHS’s decision to readopt the original Title X regulations that took effect in 2000 and the proposed revisions that would ensure access to equitable, affordable, client-centered, quality family planning services; including the rule’s focus on advancing health equity and reducing barriers to care and health disparities among underserved communities.
Attorney General Tong joins the attorneys general of California, New York, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia in sending the letter.
A copy of the comment letter is available here.
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