Brown threatens healthcare access for 50,000 Oregonians

By Oregon Right to Life

On Monday, July 30, Gov. Kate Brown announced that she would reject all Title X funding if the Department of Health and Human Services adopts new Title X rules. The Protect Life Rule would prevent abortion providers from qualifying for money under the Title X family planning program. It is estimated that this would cut $50 to $60 million of the more than $500 million in taxpayer funding that Planned Parenthood receives annually.

“Governor Brown’s decision is inexplicable,” states ORTL executive director Lois Anderson. “In a bizarre political stunt, she is threatening the healthcare access of over 50,000 Oregonians, 95% of whom are 250% below the federal poverty line.”

“This new HHS rule would only affect funding currently going to abortion clinics. It would not eliminate a dollar from preventative family planning,” continued Anderson. “Every penny would be redirected to federally qualified healthcare centers in Oregon who do not provide abortions nor share the same staff or facilities as abortion providers.”

“Oregon’s government is facing a tremendous fiscal crisis,” says Anderson. “In just the next two-year budget cycle, the deficit is expected to be between $500 million and $1.1 billion. Where does Gov. Brown expect to make up the difference when she turns down federal help for at-risk Oregonians? She continues to show she is not a friend to Oregonians, but to Planned Parenthood of Oregon.”

Oregon Right to Life advocates for the most vulnerable human beings whose right to life is denied or abridged under current law. We work to reestablish protection for all innocent human life from conception to natural death.