If a new proposed federal rule is finalized after a public comment period ending July 31, pro-life medical professionals and programs finally will be able to take advantage of family planning grants opportunities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new federal family planning rule to govern federal family planning (Title X) funds. Your supportive comments by July 31 can help make sure this proposed rule is finalized and becomes reality.

Meanwhile, CMDA is joining with other national pro-life organizations to prepare training resources that can help you apply for a federal family planning grant (more on that training to come).

By voicing your support now for this new rule, you also can help protect conscience freedom in healthcare. The new rule removes abortion participation requirements and enforces federal conscience law.

Breaking up the abortion industry’s monopoly on federal family planning funds
For years, the abortion industry and its political allies in power have held a tight monopoly on federal family planning funds, through exclusionary and coercive rules. Until now, conscience-driven pro-life medical professionals and programs have been unable to access federal family planning (Title X) funds—because of coercive regulatory requirements to refer patients for abortions.

This anti-conscience rule in family planning regulations does not accord with federal conscience law. The exclusionary discrimination has prevented excellent health programs—for example, faith-based community health centers—from partnering with the federal government in family planning programs.

Instead of allowing a wide breadth of health programs to compete in the federal grants process—with the very best qualified programs winning grant awards—the exclusionary old rule essentially limits grantees to pro-abortion programs. Patient care and choice suffers as a result of this monopoly.

The exclusionary provisions in the old rule were carefully crafted, of course, to reflect the pro-abortion ideology of the previous administration and to financially reward political allies like Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar industry that every year rakes in half a billion tax dollars and performs nearly a third of a million abortions. The abortion conglomerate then turns around and spends millions every year to elect pro-abortion candidates. Those elected officials and their appointed bureaucrats in turn make laws and rules that shovel more federal funds back into the abortion industry.

The new rule aims to protect patients, conscience and life-affirming healthcare
Thankfully, a new day is dawning in federal government family planning programs and grant requirements.

The old coercive rules that for so long have shut out pro-life healthcare—while funneling millions to the abortion industry—appear bound for the trash heap. The new rule, if finalized, will replace the old rule.

But remember: Whether or not finalization of the new rule actually happens depends in part on public comments received by July 31. Comments from healthcare professionals can be especially effective and influential.

The new rule promises to respect the conscience freedoms of healthcare professionals and programs. It also opens the door to new grant partnerships with a much wider variety of medical programs, including those that offer natural family planning and sexual risk avoidance (abstinence) programs.

The result of greater diversity in family planning providers and programs will enhance patient care with more diverse, comprehensive and holistic health offerings. The new rule will especially benefit:

• Patients seeking family planning services from healthcare professionals and organizations with life-affirming values.
• Taxpayers who do not want their tax dollars to fund the abortion industry.
• Healthcare professionals and organizations that could use federal funding to help provide services of family planning.
• Parents who want to be advised of and participate in their children’s healthcare, especially regarding family planning.

The new rule aims to stop abuse
Meanwhile, the new rule also will help stop abuses by the abortion industry and others who under the old rule may have:

• Used fungible federal funds to expand their abortion operations and did not physically separate abortion facilities and operations from Title X funds.
• Used federal funds to lobby for, advocate for or routinely refer patients for abortion.
• Declined to ask patients about or report suspected cases of abuse such as human trafficking, child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, incest or intimate partner violence.
• Not effectively involved parents and families in the healthcare of minor children.

You can learn more about the new rule at Freedom2Care.

The abortion industry is launching a massive campaign to stop this new rule. Your voice can help make sure this new rule is finalized and implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Here is your link to a quick and easy way to do that by using our pre-written, editable message that goes right to policy makers.

Please submit your comments today. The deadline is July 31, 2018. Thank you for taking a stand!