New Hampshire clinics lose Title X funding, threatening access to reproductive health care

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England is on Trump’s list of clinics to lose Title X funding.

Every year, more than 11,000 New Hampshire residents rely on Planned Parenthood for essential health care services, such as cancer screenings, STI testing, affordable birth control, and more.

That includes more than 7,000 patients annually who benefit from the clinics’ no-fee or sliding fee scale.

That’s what’s on the line this week after the Trump administration sent letters to reproductive health clinics in 20 states—including New Hampshire—announcing that much or all of their federal Title X funding had been frozen. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England got that letter.

According to POLITICO, President Donald Trump’s administration has told at least nine Planned Parenthood affiliates around the country that they are withholding the affiliates’ funding while they look into “possible violations” of federal civil rights laws and executive orders on diversity initiatives and immigration.

As part of the funding freeze, the Trump administration has additionally demanded that all targeted clinics must hand over the names of their patients within 10 days, including those who are undocumented.

Title X funding was reduced to $0 in Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, and Utah.

New Hampshire is expected to lose at least some of its Title X funding. In the state, there are two streams of Title X funding—one goes directly to Planned Parenthood while the other goes through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Started in 1970, Title X is a federal program that provides funding to clinics that offer affordable sexual and reproductive health care to low-income women. It is the country’s only federal family  planning program. About 4 million people receive free or reduced services under the program at about 4,000 clinics across the nation.

In the US, 60% of women consider a publicly funded clinic their usual source of medical care, while 40% say it is their only source of medical care.

As of right now, the organization has no plans to make changes to patient care in the state, said Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs with Planned Parenthood of New England. But a continued loss in federal funding would be harmful, especially since the organization has recently lost other funding.

In recent years, Republicans on New Hampshire’s Executive Council have blocked the state from distributing federal family planning funds to Planned Parenthood and two independent health centers, because they provide abortions.

“All of these things really add up,” Montgomery said. “We are going to do everything we can to continue serving patients in New Hampshire. We will continue serving patients in New Hampshire with quality, affordable health care. But this is difficult.”