The Trump administration has launched another attack on sexual and reproductive healthcare by withholding funding for family planning care for people who otherwise can’t afford it. The Title X Family Planning Program funds low-cost and no-cost sexual and reproductive services to millions of people, including contraception; pregnancy testing and counseling; STI/STD screening, testing, and treatment; cervical and breast cancer screening; basic fertility services; and screening for mental health and intimate partner violence. The people who depend on Title X are disproportionately women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and young people. The withholding of these funds threatens access to care for these people who already face too many barriers to care.
The Department of Health and Human Services is withholding 22 Title X grants, leaving eight states currently without any Title X-funded health centers (CA, HI, ME, MO, MS, MT, TN and UT). It’s estimated that these grants serve roughly 30% of all Title X patients. Chances are that if you or someone you know has ever gone to a family planning clinic to get free or low-cost care, you were benefiting from the Title X program. Everyone needs and deserves access to sexual and reproductive health care and the Title X Family Planning program is the only dedicated federal funding source for family planning care.
Speak out against these attacks on Title X!
Sign this petition to tell RFK Jr. and HHS to stop their attacks on the Title X Family Planning Program. You and your community deserve better.
Dear Secretary Kennedy,
As advocates for reproductive well-being, we write in strong support of the Title X Family Planning Program and urge you to strengthen, not undermine, the program by withholding necessary funds and targeting critical health care providers within the Title X network. We implore you to consider the enormous benefits that the Title X Family Planning Program provides.
For over 50 years, the Title X Family Planning Program has been providing low-cost and no-cost sexual and reproductive services to millions of people across the country. As you know, these vital services include contraception; pregnancy testing and counseling; STI/STD screening, testing, and treatment; cervical and breast cancer screening; basic fertility services; and screening for mental health and intimate partner violence.
Millions of Americans depend on these services – and not solely for their reproductive health care needs. Sixty percent of Title X patients did not have another source of broader health care in 2023. Additionally, 60% of patients also had an income at or below the Federal Poverty Level.
19 million women in need of publicly funded family planning currently live in contraceptive deserts—counties where they lack reasonable access to a clinic with the full range of contraceptive methods. Without Title X, millions of people of reproductive age will face barriers accessing birth control and have a higher risk of contracting an STI, of not being able to access breast cancer screenings, and of developing cervical cancer.
Attacks on Title X, including the program’s integrity, network of providers and patients it serves, will hurt marginalized and vulnerable communities who already struggle accessing care. Undermining access to necessary sexual and reproductive care for millions will not make Americans healthy. Having accessible and trusted providers is foundational to ensuring that our vulnerable communities have the ability to have their health concerns addressed before they intensify or become chronic.
Your mission to address widespread care disparities is an admirable one, and we urge you to consider this mission through evidence-based science and a framework of reproductive well-being. We urge you to support the integrity of the Title X Family Planning Program and restore critical funding for those in great need.