Vainieri Huttle Statement on Title X “Gag” Rule

          (TRENTON) – Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) issued the following statement regarding the recently announced “gag” rule place by the Trump administration on Title X:

“Today, the Trump-Pence administration released a “gag” rule that threatens Title X, the federal program for family planning. The stakes are too high to be playing politics with our health care.

“Title X is the nation’s only family planning program. Its funds help to ensure that everyone, regardless of their income or zip code, can afford preventive services such as cancer screenings, birth control, and STD testing and treatment.

“This “gag” rule bans doctors in the Title X program from telling women how they can safely and legally access abortion services. This rule would make it impossible for patients who rely on Title X to get birth control and other critical family planning services from providers such as Planned Parenthood. Let’s be clear, the administration is preventing health care providers from giving their patients full and accurate information about all of their options, literally “gagging” doctors.

“Health care is a human right; this change puts 4 million patients at risk for losing access to care. In New Jersey, Title X funds provided access to sexual and reproductive health care to nearly 100,000 patients in 2016.

“Everyone deserves quality medical care, including access to reproductive health care and family planning services. As a champion for access to sexual and reproductive health care, I denounce the administration’s move to come between a woman and her health care. Stop playing politics with women’s health.”