The Obama Administration has proposed a new rule that will protect Planned Parenthood against individual states defunding it and all other family planning organizations. The motive behind the rule is apparently for “political reasons.” The proposed rule says that ‘Title X’ Family Planning is basic reproductive support for low-income American families which, is about 4 million. Planned Parenthood provides care and services to men, women, and young people across the country. The non-profit’s services include but are not limited to, birth control, sexual health and cancer screenings, and in some clinics, abortions.
State funding for the organization can only be removed if the “ability to deliver services to program beneficiaries” is not carried out “in an effective manner.” Basically, states cannot terminate funding simply because some of the clinics provide abortion services; it’s only if Planned Parenthood and other family planning organizations fail to do their job accordingly. This is because Planned Parenthood doesn’t actually fund abortions (and abortions make up only 3% of their services), but the other services that they provide to patients. Abortions usually have to be paid for by the patient. So in attempting to remove funding for these organizations, the goal isn’t to protect life but to prevent women from getting the care they need.
This is a huge sign of dedication and movement for Obama’s Administration. It shows that they are well aware of the effects of a complete Republican government as well as our new President-elect and his Vice President’s plan to defund these programs and take away a right that shouldn’t even be a debate. Naturally, this new rule took some time to be processed, and it still isn’t complete. It underwent a 30-day comment period where it was reviewed by members of Congress and State. During these 30 days, states that continued to try and defund Planned Parenthood and facilities like it probably stopped fighting what is now a genuine win for the Obama Administration. Now, all we wait for is the Department of Health and Services to review the public comments on the proposal.
