A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood’s political action committee says the Trump administration’s attacks on The Affordable Care Act is leaving many poor women with nowhere to turn for care.
Alencia Johnson, who is is the director of public engagement at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), told Hill.TV that over 60 percent of the nonprofit’s patients rely on government-funded programs like Medicare or Title X.
“That’s what we hear from our patients’ stories all the time is that they know that if they lost access to health care at Planned Parenthood, they will have nowhere else to go,” Johnson told Hill.TV correspondent Jamal Simmons in an interview that aired on Thursday.
Johnson blames President Trump and his efforts to repeal ObamaCare, saying the administration has been attacking women “since day one.”
“They [Trump administration] have been trying through the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to block Medicaid patients from going to the provider of their choice,” Johnson said.
“How absurd is that you’re telling low-income folks that they cannot choose their health care provider if their health care provider happens to be Planned Parenthood,” she added.
Trump has targeted funding to Planned Parenthood throughout his time in the White House.
Shortly after taking office, Trump rescinded a guidance from the Obama administration that made it harder for states to defund Planned Parenthood. The 2016 guidance warned states that ending Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood could be against federal law.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in June also issued a “domestic gag rule” that prevents Title X grantees from offering a full range of pregnancy-related options.
Enacted under the Nixon Administration, Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning.
Johnson warned the rollback on ObamaCare is already having an impact on women, especially those in rural areas and women of color.
“As a woman of color, I think about the fact that 40 percent of black women have a hard time paying for birth control at 10 dollars or less,” she told Hill.TV.
Trump has failed to wipe out federal funding for the nonprofit altogether and despite repeated attacks from Republicans, that doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a controversial new amendment on Thursday that would officially end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, but it was blocked by top Republicans.
— Tess Bonn
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