Senator Baldwin Cosponsors and Supports Passage of Legislation to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined her Democratic colleagues in introducing the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act. The legislation would protect access to critical reproductive health care services—like birth control, pregnancy counseling, cancer screenings and more—by providing a consistent and strong source of funding for the Title X Family Planning Program. On Thursday, Senate Democrats will take to the Senate floor to seek unanimous consent to pass the legislation.

“While Republicans have stripped away the reproductive rights and freedoms of Wisconsin women, we must continue strengthening critical programs like Title X that give women access to essential family planning health care services,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin. “On Thursday, Americans will know who stands on the side of women and who does not. While my Republican colleagues stand on the side of taking reproductive freedoms away, I stand on the side of ensuring women have access to the reproductive healthcare and family planning services they want and need.”

The Title X Family Planning Program is the only federal program dedicated to providing comprehensive family planning and preventive health services. Hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on the program for essential health care. In 2020 alone, over 1.5 million patients received family planning services through Title X.

Title X is funded through the annual appropriations process, which subjects the program to an unpredictable funding stream that is insufficient to meet the national need. The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would provide a consistent and strong source of funding for Title X.

The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would:

• Provide $500 million in mandatory funding for Title X services for each of the next 10 fiscal years.  This is well above the $286 million the program received in FY2022.
• Deliver $50 million in mandatory funding for clinic construction, renovation, and related infrastructure enhancements for each of the next 10 fiscal years.
• Reinstate regulations prohibiting discrimination of providers who deliver Title X services.
• Require that pregnancy counseling include information about prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care, adoption, and pregnancy termination, unless a patient does not have any interest in receiving information about an option.

The introduction of the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act was led by Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). In addition, the legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Catholics for Choice, the National Partnership for Women & Families, Power to Decide, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council of Jewish Women, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, ACLU, Advocates for Youth, National Women’s Law Center, and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

You can access a summary of the bill here and the full text here.

An online of this release is available here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.