Planned Parenthood can’t comply with latest standards to receive Title X funds

After a judge approved a Trump administration rule change pertaining to which family planning clinics may receive Title X funding, Planned Parenthood in Vermont says it will lose funds amounting to $800,000.

Early in the week a federal rule change went into effect that blocks Title X funds from flowing to clinics that provide or even counsel abortions.

According to estimates by LifeNews.com, Planned Parenthood stands to lose close to $60 million nationwide.  Planned Parenthood of Northern New England gets $1.5 million, or about 60 percent of its total financing, from Title X taxpayer money. Vermont with its 12 clinics — the most per capita in the nation — gets more than half that money, or about $800,000.

“There is a requirement that health care practitioners would have to withhold information from patients,” Lucy Leriche, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood of New England, told True North. “It’s a direct violation of medical ethics. … It’s an ethical duty to give patients all of the information [when receiving health care].”

In addition to following the prohibition on recommending abortions, an abortion provider seeking Title X funds must physically separate its abortion services from family planning services such as free birth control, cancer screenings, and STD testing.

Leriche said having to build new centers separate from their existing centers is not economical.

“To require us to build new centers … it’s kind of crazy and absurd,” he said. She added that a lot of their facilities are only open a few days a week, and it would be too much overhead to run new any facilities like that.

“To separate it out is definitely not financially feasible,” she said.

She added that there is a negative stigma to forcing patients to another location for abortion services.

Another requirement is that any money involving abortions must be completely separated from the rest of their budget. Leriche said this accounting aspect was never a problem.

Mary Beerworth, director of Vermont Right to Life, says Planned Parenthood clinics in New England and Vermont are on track to lose money, based on information she received from sources at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“[They] said they will not get the money,” Beerworth said. “It goes back to the U.S. Treasury if they can’t find someone else [to take it].”

In fact, there may not be any other health clinics in Vermont in line for the funds.

Kim Anderson, director of development and communications for the Community Health Centers of Burlington, told True North in a recent interview that even if the funds were up for grabs, her health centers will not pursue it.

“We don’t want to do anything that would restrict having conversations about the appropriateness of care for each individual,” she said.

When asked if taking Title X funds would prevent her organization from recommending abortion services to their clients — even though their facilities do not provide abortions — she said yes.

In Rutland, however, a non-abortion family planning clinic called First Step has opened, and its director says his clinic would look into the possibility of applying for funds.

“We certainly will try,” First Step director David Wilkinson said, adding that eligibility may require the clinic to provide services not currently offered — such as STD testing.

Beerworth said Vermont gives $300,000 annually to its Planned Parenthood network, and that the abortion provider may now seek more funds from Vermont taxpayers.

Planned Parenthood is actively opposing the rule change on social media, claiming that these cuts are going to hinder its ability to provide critical health services.

Beerworth says Planned Parenthood isn’t likely to change its ways to keep the money.

“They believe that abortion is just a method of family planning. That’s what they’ve demonstrated at the Statehouse as well last year,” she said. “That puts them out of compliance with the Title X rule, and they won’t change or restructure their business so that they can be in compliance. So they are actually not getting cut the funds, they are forfeiting the money.”

Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North Reports. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Fibonacci Blue

7 thoughts on “Planned Parenthood can’t comply with latest standards to receive Title X funds

  1. Since they don’t do anything that constitutes real health care, they’ll just continue what they’re already doing – terminating and preventing pregnancies. The only change will be in the billing and donations office.

  2. Planned parenthood is an abortion clinic that claims to be for women’s good but aborting babies causes great depression and is not acceptable birth control. Women have many rights..the morning after pill..contraceptives..adoption etc. The baby has none. We must not be known in Vermont for passing horrible laws allowing g babies to be killed even up to birth.

  3. PP should never ever have been funded with taxes in the first place. The liberals will fund their infanticide factories in half a day.

  4. Great news, PPH is nothing more than a service that prays on those in need, but
    the need isn’t ” Killing ” the unborn !!

    All Federal funding should be suspended, Liberals will cry when you kill a puppy, but
    they don’t have a problem killing an unborn human……..Hypocrites all for an agenda.

  5. “and has NOTHING to do with women’s health. PERIOD!!!!!!”

    Exactly Jim, they just fired their latest leader, a Doctor, who was trying to move the org to a health based instead of a arms (and other body parts) dealer. Also she perpetrated the crime of not
    promoting gender confusion by siding with Science in respect to deny transgenders abortions.

  6. Happy day!!! AT LAST someone is using common sense. Planned Parenthood is nothing more than a lobbying organization and has NOTHING to do with women’s health. PERIOD!!!!!!

  7. Oh well,that’s the cost of a organization that conducts the business of taking innocent lives.

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