<p>Last week, the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new proposal that will make it impossible for some states to defund abortion providers.  ;</p>
<p>Title X (part of the <em>US Public Helath Service Act</em>) is a federal program enacted in 1970 to provide family planning services. Under the new HHS rule, states receiving this funding would be unable to exclude eligible funding recipients &ldquo;for reasons unrelated to its ability to provide services effectively.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p><em>The word &ldquo;reasons&rdquo; in this instance refers to abortion services.</em></p>
<p>HHS notes that since 2011, &ldquo;13 states have taken actions to restrict participation by certain types of providers as sub-recipients in the Title X program based on factors unrelated to the providers&rsquo; ability to provide the services required.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The department claims these actions have &ldquo;led to [a] disruption of services or reduction of services&rdquo; which in turn has caused &ldquo;harmful effects on access to family planning services and is linked with increased pregnancy rates that are not in line with population-wide trends.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>Reduced access to abortion clinics will obviously lead to increased rates of pregnancy, but HHS talks about pregnancy like it&#8217;s a disease.</em></p>
<p>HHS goes on to explain that the exclusion of specific clinics and providers causes &ldquo;reduced use of highly effective methods of contraception and corresponding increase in rates of childbirth among populations that rely on federally supported care.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>This argument fails to hold up considering the fact that HHS is arguing for more providers to be included in Title X &ndash; which also operates through federal funding. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;This latest stunt from President Obama&rsquo;s Department of Health and Human Services should surprise absolutely no one,&rdquo; states Representative Diane Black (R-TN). &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve known all along that the Obama Administration will go to untold lengths to protect its friends in the big abortion industry.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Black calls the new rule &ldquo;shady&rdquo; and plans to write a &ldquo;letter expressing the deep concerns of Members of Congress on this proposal.&rdquo; But she knows a simple letter won&rsquo;t be enough. ;&ldquo;We must use the full force of Congress and the grassroots strength of the national pro-life movement to defeat this absurd rule and prevent the Obama Administration from acting unilaterally to carry out political favors and prop up a scandal-ridden abortion provider.&rdquo; ;</p>