Mayor Joyce Craig, dozens of New Hampshire health care groups, and 1,800 citizens expressed their opposition on July 27 to a proposed gag rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The rule would prohibit doctors, nurses, hospitals, community health centers, and any other provider in the Title X program from telling patients how they can access safe, legal abortion.
Mayor Craig was among 80 mayors who signed an open letter to Alex Azar, Secretary of the HHS, highlighting the need for Planned Parenthood’s services in their communities and declaring their support for equitable health care access.
“We thank Mayor Craig for doing what is right for the city of Manchester and for the state of New Hampshire by standing up for the quality, affordable health care that 18,000 Granite Staters access through Title X, including nearly 5,000 patients served by Planned Parenthood in Manchester. The 80 mayors who sent this letter understand the vital role Planned Parenthood plays in the Title X program, and are listening to the needs of the people they represent. The Trump Administration’s proposed changes to Title X are politically motivated, unethical, and dangerous, and we applaud the mayors who are standing up for public health by opposing this proposed gag rule,” said Sabrina Dunlap, VP of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
The proposed changes to Title X are opposed by the medical community, lawmakers, and public health experts. Major medical associations like ACOG, ACP and more oppose this rule. When a similar version of this rule was introduced in the 1980s, it was met with tremendous outcry and opposition from the medical community. More than 200 members of Congress, including the full New Hampshire congressional delegation, and 100 public health organizations have come out in opposition to a gag policy.
Title X, the national family planning program, was established in 1970 under the Nixon administration to help low-income people access basic reproductive health services. The program is viewed not only as a women’s health program, but also as an economic development initiative to help build and sustain a middle-class. In 1972 New Hampshire joined the federal-state Title X partnership and began distributing funds to community health providers, including Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE).
The Title X program in New Hampshire covers roughly 18,000 women, men, and young people annually. The five Planned Parenthood health centers in New Hampshire serve approximately 60 percent of Title X patients in our state and are among the only places people can come to for specialized care like Intrauterine Devices (IUDs) or the birth control shot.