Planned Parenthood Scores Victories in Signed Budget Bill
For Immediate Release: Jan. 30, 2014
Commonsense Health Care Prevails with Increase in Title X Family Planning Funding;
No Increase in Funds for Dangerous Abstinence-Only Programs
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), the nation’s leading reproductive health care advocate and provider, scored two victories in the domestic budget bill that President Bush signed into law yesterday. The new budget provides the largest increase in Title X family planning funding since 2000, a $16.8 million increase from the previous year. The final budget for Title X, the nation’s family planning program, will be $299.9 million dollars this year, and will provide millions of women and families access to family planning and prevention services.
In addition, the final budget bill allocated no additional funds for dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny teens information about how to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections like HIV/AIDS.
“The final budget bill is a positive step for preventive and reproductive health care, and includes the largest increase in family planning funding since 2000,” said PPFA President Cecile Richards. “Every year millions of women, men and teens turn to Planned Parenthood for health care services, education, and information and increasing Title X support has been one of the top priorities of our Prevention First agenda. We finally have congressional leadership that recognizes the power of prevention in protecting women’s health, and we applaud all who worked hard to secure additional Title X funds. The best way to prevent unintended pregnancies and promote healthy families is to invest in family planning programs like Title X, and ensure more women and families have access to reproductive health care and comprehensive sex education programs.”
The final budget bill adds no new funding to the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program, a step in the right direction toward ending ineffective abstinence-only programs. This is positive news for America’s teens, as federal funding should be directed toward comprehensive sex education programs that will keep teens healthy — by including information about abstinence as well as contraception, healthy communication, responsible decision making, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections.
Source
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Contact
Published
December 27, 2007
Updated
May 13, 2014