Letter to Alex Azar, Secretary of US Department of Health and Human Services - DeGette, others demand answers after Trump administration defunds Planned Parenthood affiliates in five states

Letter

A trio of senior U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) who serves as chair of the Congressional Prochoice Caucus, sent a letter today to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar publicly accusing the Trump administration of putting its own "political ideology over the well-being of women and families across the nation."

The letter, which was cosigned by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), comes in response to the Trump administration's decision not to award Title X family-planning funds to several Planned Parenthood affiliates that had previously received them.

"For nearly 50 years, the Title X program has issued grant funding to providers that offer high-quality family planning and essential preventive health care services in their communities," the lawmakers wrote. "The changes made to the Title X network and reports of external influence during the development of the funding opportunity announcement and application process appear to confirm concerns we have raised repeatedly as the Trump Administration continues to place political ideology over the well-being of women and families across the nation."

The lawmakers said they are particularly alarmed that five of the nine previously-funded entities that will no longer receive Title X funding this year are Planned Parenthood affiliates in five states: Hawaii, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Collectively, these five entities have decades of experience participating in the Title X program and a longstanding history of providing high-quality sexual and reproductive health care in the communities they serve.

In contrast, one of the entities that will receive funding for the first time this year is Obria Group, of California, which operates a chain of crisis pregnancy centers. According to published reports last year, Obria clinics have an "unyielding stance on contraception" promoting "only natural family planning;" and, while Obria-affiliated clinics will test for, and treat, sexually transmitted infections, "they don't distribute condoms to prevent them."

Despite having been previously rejected for Title X funding in 2018, Obria will now receive $1.7 million in federal funding this year -- and could receive as much as $5.1 million through 2022.

DeGette and the others want to know why; and -- as leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee -- are demanding that Azar provide their committee, among other things:

All documents and communications among and/or between HHS and the Obria Group, Inc. and any other Obria affiliated clinics' staff regarding Title X funding from March 1, 2017 through March 29, 2019.
All documents and communications among and/or between HHS and Beacon Christian Community Health Centers regarding Title X funding from March 1, 2017 through March 29, 2019
The Orbia and Beacon applications for Title X funding under both the FY 2018 and FY 2019 Title X Family Planning Services Funding Opportunity Announcements and the respective review materials, correspondence, and scores.

Source