Birth Control, Health Care, Title X
Today at the State House, family planning patients, providers, and advocates will gather in support of LD 1613Speaker Sara Gideon’s bill to fund a statewide family planning network after the loss of federal Title X funds.
This bill would ensure continued access to affordable birth control, STI testing and treatment, cancer screening, and other sexual and reproductive health services for 23,000 Mainers. Without this funding, tens of thousands of Mainers will face barriers to low-cost, high-quality, nonjudgmental health care from trusted providers in their communities.
Family planning health clinics — there are 50 of them in our statewide network — are a lifeline for Mainers who struggle to make ends meet, who are uninsured or uninsured, or who live in rural areas. which is part of the state.
Last year, the Trump-Pence administration’s Domestic Gag Rule forced qualified providers out of the Title X National Family Planning program, jeopardizing basic health care for vulnerable people across the country. Maine Family Planning refuses to comply with the medically unethical Gag Rule, which would restrict what our practitioners can tell patients about abortion care; weakened standards of care; and threat to patient confidentiality (especially for minors). The Gag Rule was designed to push comprehensive reproductive health care providers like MFP and Planned Parenthood out of what was once an effective, bipartisan federal program.
LD 1613 ensures that no Maner will lose access to basic health care as a result of the flawed Gag Rule.
Broad Support for Family Planning
Maine’s leading medical and advocacy organizations support this bill.
Family Planning Funding Sign-On Letter
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, urge the State to make immediate investments in Maine’s family planning network to ensure that every Maine, regardless of income or where they live, can access comprehensive, de -quality, and affordable sexual and reproductive health care from an expert. provider in their community.
As a coalition, we collectively represent thousands of patients, providers, and advocates in Maine. The family planning network is an important part of our state’s public health infrastructure. We support Maine’s sexual and reproductive health care leaders in their efforts to secure sustainable public funding for a network of health centers that offer essential services such as birth control, cancer screening, and testing and STD treatment among mostly low-income and rural Mainers.
For nearly 50 years, Maine has received federal family planning funds through the Title X National Family Planning Program, administered by Maine Family Planning in our state. These funds support the provision of birth control and other preventive care to more than 22,000 Mainers each year, nearly 80 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced-cost services. Maine’s robust family planning network has been a driving force behind high rates of effective contraceptive use and low rates of unintended and teenage pregnancies.
Despite demonstrable public health benefits, the Trump administration has released a politically motivated plan to crack down on Title X. These rule changes are collectively called the Domestic Gag Rule because they prohibit referrals for on abortion and imposes other limitations on the speech and activities of organizations involved in Title X Care.
Maine’s sole Title X grantee, Maine Family Planning, refused to comply with the Domestic Gag Rule and withdrew from the Title X program on August 19, 2019 — leaving a huge gap in public funding for the system. state family planning.
Now, our State legislature has an opportunity to step in and ensure that this network of health centers can continue to meet the sexual and reproductive health care needs of Mainers. The services offered by family planning providers are in the public interest, save State health care dollars, and empower people to build the families and futures they envision for themselves. This network guarantees public investment. A lack of legislative action will mean fewer services offered and potential clinic closings — disproportionately affecting low-income and rural Mainers.
This coalition has a common goal: To improve the health and economic security of Mainers. We urge the State to help accomplish that goal by passing LD 1613 this legislative session.
Sincerely,
Maine Family Planning
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Maine Medical Association
Maine Primary Care Association
Maine Equal Justice
Maine Nurse Practitioners Association
Maine Affiliate of the American College of Nurse Midwives
Maine Women’s Lobby
EqualityMaine
Maine People’s Alliance
Maine Access Points
Maine Transgender Network
American Civil Liberties Union of Maine
Health Equity Alliance
Mabel Wadsworth Center
Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence
Get settled in Maine
Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights
Maine Providers Stand Up for Health Care
(current as of 2/13/20)
