Planned Parenthood Is Health Care, and Health Care Must Defend It: A Call to Action

Abstract

Emboldened by the hostile rhetoric of the current presidential administration, federal and state legislators are intent on enacting legislation further curtailing, if not eliminating, Title X funding and Medicaid reimbursement to sexual and reproductive health care services providers-which are predominantly Planned Parenthood health centers. Defunding Planned Parenthood health centers would result in the loss of reproductive health and primary health care services that cannot be immediately replaced by community health clinics (CHCs) or other providers in underresourced counties. These losses constitute a dangerous threat to the public health of communities across the United States. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print May 18, 2017: e1-e2. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303867).