<p>Anti-abortion activists are increasing pressure on the Trump Administration to restore a Reagan-era &ldquo;gag rule&rdquo; that would prevent Title X recipients from talking about abortion services.</p>
<p>The restrictions, first introduced in 1988 by President Reagan, also require Title X recipients to be physically and financially separate from abortion providers. This would force Planned Parenthood and other clinics ;to either stop discussing abortions with patients or stop receiving federal funds. It would also block all ;clinics attached to abortion providers from receiving money under Title X. ;</p>
<p>The <em>Title X Family Planning Program</em> was implemented in 1971 in order to help low-income women pay for family planning services such as STD testing. While Title X funds cannot be used for abortions, they can flow to clinics that also offer abortions. Planned Parenthood currently accounts for about 40% of Title X funds. ;</p>
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<p>Cutting Planned Parenthood&#8217;s access to taxpayer money would be a huge win for the GOP ahead of midterms, when the party&rsquo;s majorities in the House and Senate will be at risk.</p>
<p>According to a list compiled by White House Political Director Bill Stephen, every single Republican in a competitive House race is pro-life. HHS Secretary Alex Azar has already received letters from more than 200 GOP Congressmen pushing for the changes. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;The life issue is a huge motivator for the Right,&rdquo; notes pro-life activist Kelly Marcum. &#8220;Getting a win on the pro-life side, even if it&rsquo;s regulatory rather than legislative, would be huge, and encourage people to come out and vote for the members who pushed for action on this&#8230;It&rsquo;s a way to wiggle away at Planned Parenthood federal funding, and a way to reinforce the idea that abortion is not family planning.&#8221;</p>
<p>Unfortunately the life issue is also a motivator for the Left, which insists the gag rule would restrict access to reproductive healthcare.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We strongly oppose efforts to undermine the integrity of the Title X program and harm the millions of people who rely on it for care,&rdquo; reads a letter signed by 45 Democrats. &ldquo;Federal health policy should be evidence-based and produced with the best interests of patients in mind.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Utah are suing the Trump Administration over its consideration of the gag rule, which they insist is specifically designed to ;defund Planned Parenthood and to ;benefit clinics that promote abstinence over contraception. &ldquo;Such an unjustified loss of Title X funds would be a disaster for the low-income patients,&rdquo; said the affiliates. ;</p>
<p>The ACLU filed a similar lawsuit against the Trump Administration on May 2nd. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen dramatic examples of what happens when states like Texas and Indiana tamper with family planning funds,&#8221; says ACLU President Clare Coleman, &#8220;substantial numbers of people are deprived of healthcare they want, resulting in significantly higher rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy.&rdquo;</p>