SALT LAKE CITY — Planned Parenthood Association of Utah is losing some funding for birth control, STD or cancer screenings rather than submit to a new rule regarding abortion referrals.
In a statement, the group said it would follow the national Planned Parenthood organization in forgoing Title X funding rather than implement new restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on abortion referral information.
“I am heartbroken that we have to withdraw today from Title X, but we refuse to let the Trump administration bully us into withholding abortion information from our patients in Utah. The gag rule is unethical and dangerous, and we will not subject our patients to it,” said Planned Parenthood of Utah CEO Karrie Galloway.
Galloway said in a statement that the clinic would not be closing.
“Planned Parenthood of Utah will do everything in our power to make sure that Utahns continue to have access to the same high-quality, affordable reproductive health care we have provided for nearly 50 years.”
The group said it would continue to provide birth control, STD and cancer screenings, but rely more on donations and encouraging people to use insurance if they have it.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently imposed restrictions on those who receive Title X funding from abortion referrals. Planned Parenthood has called it a “gag rule.”
Planned Parenthood of Utah said they provide coverage to roughly 37,000 people under Title X funding. The program, the group said, benefits mostly minority communities.
