WASHINGTON, DC (May 24, 2018)– Today, the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is speaking out to oppose the Trump Administration’s gag rule that would prevent people who access care through Title X providers from obtaining information about the full range of reproductive health care options. This rule will impact many individuals who are uninsured, have low incomes, and are people of color.
The rule “gags” any Title X providers from referring their patients to health care providers for safe, legal abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood and community health centers. Title X providers who do not comply with this rule could risk losing federal funding. Planned Parenthood and other Title X providers have been a vital component of the safety net providers for reproductive services.
“This rule is a clear attack on reproductive rights and will have a devastating impact on Black women,” says Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of Black Women’s Health Imperative.
Preventive care such as birth control, breast and cervical cancer screening, and STD testing and treatment help reduce the devastating impacts of chronic and infectious diseases that Black women face at higher rates. If the gag rule is implemented, reproductive health care providers like Planned Parenthood could lose their federal funding and with it, the ability to serve the Black women who rely on their life-saving services. Black women and all women, deserve access to this care and should have the autonomy to decide best options for their care upon receiving full and accurate medical information from their providers.
Goler Blount added, “The Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) strongly opposes the proposed rule that would put any limitations on Title X funding, women’s rights and access to reproductive health care. Black women already face multiple barriers to accessing quality, affordable health care which leads to higher rates of both unintended pregnancy and abortion. This ‘gag rule’ is a direct affront to Black women’s fundamental right to receiving the full the range of reproductive health options and to their very lives. More than four million people rely on affordable birth control and reproductive health care services provided by Title X clinics, 21 percent of whom are Black. The gag rule, if implemented, condemns Black women to higher infant death rates, worsening maternal outcomes and potentially, a lifetime of poverty. We must stop these attacks on Black women and all women.”
We will continue to educate Black women on the implications of this proposed rule and will work with our partners to submit comment in opposition.
###
The Black Women’s Health Imperative identifies the most pressing health issues that affect the nation’s 21 million Black women and girls and invest in the best of the best strategies, partners, and organizations that share our goal: ensuring Black women live longer, healthier, more prosperous lives. For more information, please call the Black Women’s Health Imperative at (202) 370-3630 or visit bwhi.org. Subscribe to receive the e-newsletter and follow the BWHI on social media using hashtag, #BlkWomensHealth for updates. Find us on Find us on Facebook (Black Women’s Health Imperative), Twitter (@BlkWomensHealth) YouTube (Black Women’s Health Imperative) and Instagram (@BlkWomensHealth).