Dear Friends:
This week, Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico joined several other state-based family policy groups in submitting official comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, expressing strong support of the proposed “Protect Life Rule.”
Background:
Title X is a federal grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This year, Title X was funded at $286 million which the Department can distribute to family healthcare centers across the nation.
DID YOU KNOW that the Title X Statute prohibits funds from going to abortions?
Yes, Title X funds are only supposed to be used for pre-conceptive family planning services. Over the decades, however, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has implemented everchanging policies on what this means, creating a regulatory loophole for taxpayer funded abortions. For example, the Department has long allowed funds to go to clinics that offer abortion referrals and counseling; those that perform abortions out of the same room as family planning services; and those that do not keep their abortion program separate and distinct from their family planning services program. The biggest beneficiary of this loophole is Planned Parenthood which performs over 300,000 abortion a year and receives $50-$60 million annually in Title X funds.
The “Protect Life Rule”:
This proposed rule will help reduce taxpayer funded abortions by keeping Title X funds out of the hands of abortion providers. Specifically, the rule would:
- Require Title X grant applicants to prove they will not in any way, shape, or form use Title X funds to promote, encourage, or advocate for abortion;
- Prohibit Title X Funds from going to programs that provide abortion referrals or abortion counseling; and
- Require programs that receive Title X funds and provide abortion services to have facilities and services that are separate and distinct from its family planning services. (e.g. A clinic location that is receiving Title X Funds cannot also provide abortions out of the same space.)
Please note, the “Protect Life Rule” does not reduce funding, nor does it prevent anyone from accessing abortion. It would simply address the absurdity of using funds designated for family planning and pre-conceptive care to perform abortion services.
The good news is, when this rule is adopted, one loophole for taxpayer funded abortions will be closed—a loophole that for years has allowed the abortion industry to subsidize the killing of preborn babies through the federal treasury.
The bad news is, the abortion industry will continue to receive millions of dollars from the federal treasury in the form of Medicaid reimbursements.
In short, the “Protect Life Rule” is a great first step, but we still have work to do! And to that effort, Family Policy Alliance of New Mexico and our national network of pro-family organizations will continue to advance public policies—local and national—that protect life and help create stable, safe, and nurturing families.
Standing for Life and Family,
Vince Torres
President and Executive Director
