CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Today, Kelly Blanchard, President of Ibis Reproductive Health, released the statement below about the current administration’s sweeping changes to Title X.
“On Friday, the Trump administration continued its attacks on people’s—and especially women’s—access to the health care they need. By barring health care providers who provide abortions or abortion referrals from receiving federal funding through Title X, the rule will harm millions of people. Title X plays a critical role in ensuring more than four million people can access safe, affordable, quality sexual and reproductive health care each year. This rule is a blatant attempt to insert political ideology into patient-provider relationships and would prevent health care providers from giving people all the information they need to make decisions about their health and well-being. The rule will particularly affect low-income people, people of color, and young people—who already face some of the greatest challenges to health care access and are most affected by medically unnecessary laws.
“This is unacceptable and appalling. We deserve a government that places people’s well-being and access to high-quality, evidence-based health care over partisan politics. We are deeply concerned about what this rule means for reproductive autonomy. Anyone seeking sexual and reproductive health care should have access to information about all of their options. Limiting information and preventing providers from offering this care will only lead to delays in access, exacerbating the unnecessary logistical and financial barriers that put women and families’ well-being at risk. Furthermore, prohibiting providers from open, honest discussions with their patients about all of their health options, under fear of losing the ability to provide any care at all, is unethical.
“Today, we stand with health care providers that offer high-quality, comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion care, across the United States. We will continue to partner with them to identify ways to move toward a world where high-quality sexual and reproductive health information and services are easy to access, affordable for all, and available without unnecessary medical requirements or legal impediments. We will collaborate with communities of those most affected to raise up their voices, and will continue to conduct bold, rigorous research to help shape policies and services that protect and uphold human and reproductive rights.”