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Letter to the Hon. Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services - Cassidy, Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Issue New Title X Regulations

Letter

By: Martha Roby, Rick Crawford, Doug LaMalfa, Dana Rohrabacher, Matt Gaetz, Ron DeSantis, Francis Rooney, Austin Scott, Rick Allen, Dan Lipinski, Randy Hultgren, Jim Banks, Roger Marshall, James Comer, Jr., Clay Higgins, Andy Harris, Mike Bishop, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Jason Smith, Greg Gianforte, David Rouzer, Mark Meadows, Donald Bacon, Claudia Tenney, Bob Latta, Mike Turner, Mike Kelly, Jr., Bill Cassidy, Bradley Byrne, Gary Palmer, Andy Biggs, Kevin McCarthy, Doug Lamborn, John Rutherford, Gus Bilirakis, Rob Woodall, Barry Loudermilk, Raúl Labrador, Rodney Davis, Jackie Walorski, Larry Bucshon, Ron Estes, Steve Scalise, Robert Aderholt, Paul Gosar, David Valadao, Ken Buck, Ted Yoho, Daniel Webster, Drew Ferguson, Jody Hice, Steve King, Mike Bost, Darin LaHood, Luke Messer, Kevin Yoder, Andy Barr, Ralph Abraham, Bill Huizenga, Tom Emmer, Sam Graves, Gregg Harper, Virginia Foxx, Robert Pittenger, Kevin Cramer, Chris Smith, Brad Wenstrup, Bob Gibbs, Tom Cole, Lou Barletta, Jeff Duncan, Chuck Fleischmann, David Kustoff, Jeb Hensarling, Mike Conaway, Pete Olson, Brian Babin, Tom Garrett, Jr., Jaime Herrera Beutler, Sean Duffy, Evan Jenkins, Mike Rogers, Bruce Westerman, Tom McClintock, Duncan Hunter, Neal Dunn, Bill Posey, Buddy Carter, Doug Collins, Tom Graves, Jr., Peter Roskam, John Shimkus, Todd Rokita, Lynn Jenkins, Brett Guthrie, Mike Johnson, Jack Bergman, Paul Mitchell, Vicky Hartzler, Trent Kelly, Walter Jones, Jr., Richard Hudson, Jr., Ted Budd, Adrian Smith, Steve Chabot, Bill Johnson, Jim Renacci, Bill Shuster, Joe Wilson, Sr., Phil Roe, Marsha Blackburn, John Ratcliffe, Michael McCaul, Jodey Arrington, Michael Burgess, Rob Wittman, Morgan Griffith, Glenn Grothman, Alex Mooney, Garret Graves, Tim Walberg, Ann Wagner, Billy Long, Steven Palazzo, Mark Walker, Patrick McHenry, Jeff Fortenberry, Steve Pearce, Jim Jordan, Warren Davidson, Steve Russell, Keith Rothfus, Ralph Norman, Jr., Scott DesJarlais, Ted Poe, John Culberson, Randy Weber, Sr., Kenny Marchant, Chris Stewart, Bob Goodlatte, Cathy Rodgers, Mike Gallagher, Liz Cheney, Lloyd Smucker, Kristi Noem, Diane Black, Sam Johnson, Kevin Brady, Bill Flores, Roger Williams, Mia Love, Dave Brat, Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr., David McKinley
Date: April 30, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Reproduction

Dear Secretary Azar,

We urge you to review and update the regulations governing the Title X Family Planning Program to ensure program integrity with respect to abortion. Section 1008 of the Public Health Service Act clearly states that no federal funds appropriated for Title X for family-planning services "shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning." However, the program's current regulations (42 CFR 59) undermine the law.

Specifically, the current Clinton-era regulations require grantees to refer pregnant women for abortion (42 CFR 59.5(a)(5)(i)(C)) and allow Title X clinics to co-locate with abortion clinics-in some cases utilizing the same waiting rooms, staff, and facilities. Title X programs which are co-located with abortion clinics or refer for abortion send a message that abortion is considered a method of family planning in federally-funded family planning programs, contrary to the law.

We ask that you restore the regulations issued on February 2, 1988 (53 FR 2922), which clarified that Title X programs may not promote, counsel, or refer clients for abortion or collocate or combine family planning services with abortion activities. These rules required not only complete financial separation, but also physical separation of abortion activities from Title X service sites and separate personnel. These rules were upheld by the Supreme Court in Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173 (1991).

We applaud the states that have acted on Congress' 2017 legislation overturning an Obama-era Title X rule (P.L. 115-23) by redirecting these funds from abortion entities like Planned Parenthood towards community health centers that provide more comprehensive health services for women, but not abortion. Nevertheless, we urge the administration to do more.

Therefore, we request swift action to issue new regulations for the Title X program. These new regulations should ensure program integrity by requiring a robust and complete separation of abortion activities from federally funded family planning activities. Any programs failing to achieve this standard should not receive federal funding.

Sincerely,


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