President Joe Biden started reversing one of former President Donald Trump's impactful policies as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a 71-page document containing the proposed rule "Ensuring access to equitable, affordable, client-centered, quality family planning services."
The said proposal, as per Western Journal, begins the process of reversing one of Trump's most impactful policies that is "unofficially known" as the Protect Life Rule or as pro-abortion groups refer to as the "gag rule," which prevents the use of taxpayer funds for abortion through Title X.
In the proposal, the Department of Health and Human Services stated it is working with the Office of Population Affairs to "revise the rules issued on March 4, 2019" pertaining to Trump's rule that established "standards for compliance by family planning services projects authorized by Title X of the Public Health Service Act.
"Those rules have undermined the public health of the population the program is meant to serve. The Department proposes to revise the 2019 rules by readopting the 2000 regulations, with several modifications needed to strengthen the program and ensure access to equitable, affordable, client-centered, quality family planning services for all clients, especially for low income clients," the HHS said in the proposal's Summary.
NPR explained that Trump's policy forbade any providers that refer patients for abortions from receiving through Title X funding from the government to cover services such as STD screenings and contraception for low-income people in an effort to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion facilities like it.
The proposal released by HHS would end federal laws that ban the use of taxpayer funds for abortion, which most American taxpayers do not agree to since it would compel those opposing abortion to support something they disagree with.
It's important to keep in mind that "abortion extremist" Xavier Becerra is the Biden administration's HHS Secretary.
The HHS cited in the "Public Health Impact As A Result Of The 2019 Rules And Reason For This Proposal" section of the document it released that the "number of family planning service grantees has dropped precipitously, resulting in an adverse impact on the number of clients served."
The document stated that there were "90 total grantees, 231 subrecipients, and 945 services sites" but 19 immediately withdrew from the Title X program after the implementation of Trump's policies. This resulted in a total of more than 1,000 service sites removed from the program.
The other impacts the said document cited were (in the HHS' own words):
- "Low income, uninsured, and racial ethnic minorities' access to Title X family planning services has decreased, thereby contributing to the increase in health inequities and unmet health needs within these populations."
- "Provision of critical family planning and related preventive health services has decreased dramatically."
- "OPA has been unable to secure new Title X grantees and service sites to meet the unmet need for family planning services."
- "The 2019 Final Rule is contrary to the CDC and OPA's Quality Family Planning Guidelines."
- "The 2019 Final Rule increased compliance and oversight costs, with no discernible benefit."
The proposal then intends to readopt the 2000 regulations that include a modified definition of family planning, which is "a broad range of medically approved contraceptive services."
Reversing the policy would also mean healthcare facilities like Planned Parenthood who include abortion as a method of family planning can just easily refer and schedule their client to an abortion procedure.
Western Journal cited National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias stating that the providers could easily steer women to abortion.
"The agency that is getting the Title X funding can refer for abortion and tell them, 'Oh and by the way, we do abortions in this same facility if you want to set up the appointment'," Tobias said in an interview with NPR.
NPR said the said health providers can easily claim they are "ethically obligated" to offer abortion to pregnant patients since it is part of the range of option based on the particular patient's need and interests.
HHS also said that a 30-day grace period from April 15 (or until May 14)) is given for comments from the public regarding the proposal to revise the said 2019 policies set by Trump. The proposal invited the public to send their comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by mail or hand delivery to the Office of Population Affairs.
The Department clarified that all comments are welcome but are specifically looking forward to receive ones on "how the current regulations have impacted the public's health" or how will the proposal to revise the 2019 policy "will promote public health and aid in the program's fundamental mission to offer a broad range of effective family planning methods with priority given to clients from low-income families."
Politico said the HHS proposal came as a result of Biden instructing the department to review the Title X policies Trump put into place out of his campaign promise to do so.
