Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Semantics Of New Title X Funding Rule May Come Down To Difference Between Counseling And Referrals
The Washington Post: Is It A Gag Rule? What The New Title X Family Planning Funding Rule Says.
The Trump administration has released the language of a proposed rule on federal family planning funding, and abortion rights activists are raising alarm about it. When health officials revealed Friday that they would be filing a change to which clinics would be eligible for funding, they emphasized that it was not a “gag rule.” Instead, they said they were proposing to strip away a current mandate. It requires organizations that receive Title X funding to counsel women about abortion and provide them with referrals to abortion services. Under the new rules, a provider wouldn't have to talk about abortion at all. (Cha, 5/23)
Politico Pro: Planned Parenthood’s GOP Advisers Blast Trump Over ‘Gag Rule’
In a rare public statement, Planned Parenthood's board of Republican advisers on Wednesday blasted the new Trump administration proposal to prevent some doctors from referring patients for abortions. The Trump administration this week announced changes to the Title X family planning program that would effectively eliminate funding for abortion providers including Planned Parenthood. (Diamond and Haberkorn, 5/23)
Texas Tribune: Texas Reproductive Rights Groups Worried About Trump Proposal To Strip Funding From Clinics Affiliated With Abortion Providers
Abortion providers and their advocates in Texas are raising alarm this week about a new proposal by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would strip federal family planning funding away from clinics affiliated with abortion providers or clinics that refer patients to those providers. (Evans, 5/23)
Politico Pro: Texas Already Tried What Trump Is Proposing For Family Planning — And Participation Plummeted
To understand the potential impact of the Trump administration’s dramatic proposals to transform the federal family planning program, look no further than Texas. After the state made similar cuts there, the number of women served in its family planning program plummeted more than 70 percent. (Rayasam, 5/23)
In other news —
WBUR: Why The Abortion Fight Is Becoming A Battle Over Health Information
As the White House moves to block federal funding for family planning clinics unless they stop providing abortions or referring women for abortions, supporters and opponents of abortion rights are gearing up for a familiar and likely protracted fight. ...Yet abortion access is fundamentally different than it was 30 years ago, in at least one significant way: Women today have access to safe, private, do-it-yourself abortion -- if they know where to look. (Conaboy, 5/22)
