Planned Parenthood Withdraws From Title X Funding
Source: New York Times
Planned Parenthood will withdraw from Title X, the federal family planning program, rather than comply with a new Trump administration rule that restricts what health providers can say about abortion, the organization said on Monday. The move could affect more than 1.5 million low-income women who rely on Planned Parenthood for services like birth control, pregnancy tests and screening for sexually transmitted diseases. Planned Parenthood serves about 40 percent of the four million patients under Title X. In some rural communities, Planned Parenthood is the only provider of such services.
The Trump administration’s rule says that while clinics accepting Title X funds can continue to talk to patients about abortion, they cannot refer women to an abortion provider or suggest where to obtain an abortion. That distinction may seem like a subtle one, but Planned Parenthood and many other organizations, including the American Medical Association, say the restriction would force them to withhold medical information from patients, interferes with the doctor-patient relationship, and could deny pregnant women the range of options available to them. “Trump’s administration is trying to force us to keep information from our patients,” Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement on Friday. “The gag rule is unethical, dangerous, and we will not subject our patients to it.”
The decision by Planned Parenthood is the latest step in the face-off between those who oppose restricting women’s reproductive health choices and the Trump administration, which has been steadily shifting federal health programs toward conservative preferences like promoting abstinence and allowing exemptions to insurance coverage of birth control. The immediate effect of a Planned Parenthood withdrawal is unclear and likely to vary by state. As the divisive issue of abortion becomes even more pitched with two new conservative Supreme Court justices and a presidential election looming, both sides appear to be attempting to shore up support from voters who feel passionately about preserving or restricting abortion rights.
Withdrawing from Title X will not deprive Planned Parenthood of all government funding, a longtime goal of many conservatives. Figures from Planned Parenthood’s 2017-18 annual report showed that the organization received about $500 million from Medicaid, the joint federal and state health care program for low income people. Federal funds cover most of that spending. Planned Parenthood receives about $60 million of the $286 million given annually by Title X to about 4,000 health centers providing reproductive health care, as well as screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer, to about four million patients.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/health/planned-parenthood-title-x.html
Here is info on how to donate to PP - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/get-involved/other-ways-give
= new reply since forum marked as read
They will need every penny! 
I know all my life, my mom was a big supporter of PP and routinely donated. She used to be a social worker back in the '50s so she was very aware of the work they did for family planning services for both the state (PA) and city (Philly) and always supported them when she could. She also kept track of Cecile Richards during the period when Richards headed the organization. 
I just donated! Thanks, again.
should donate money to Planned Parenthood
I donated some in Mike Pence's name. 
