Trump/Pence declares war on women's health

For Pence, creating a domestic gag rule has been a career goal for years. In 2007, as a member of Congress, he suggested “a Mexico City policy in the United States.”

The rule could devastate Planned Parenthood and other clinics that rely on federal dollars to help cover the cost of patient wellness visits, birth control, support staff and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.

Meanwhile, the proposed Protect Life rule “would require [U.S.] facilities receiving federal family planning funds to be physically separate from those that perform abortion; would eliminate the requirement that women with unintended pregnancies be counseled on their full range of reproductive options; and would ban abortion referrals,” according to NPR. Planned Parenthood quickly condemned the proposal, saying it was an “attempt to take away women’s basic rights, period.”

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Earlier in 2018, the HHS announced changes to Title X funding that prioritizes faith-based crisis clinics, which have been accused of misleading women about abortion and that emphasize “natural family-planning methods” like abstinence education. These changes allow the Trump administration to funnel money to organizations that provide limited or inaccurate information about family planning and resources for women facing unwanted or high-risk pregnancies — while also taking funding away from organizations that provide services like cancer screenings and mental health services.

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