Title X: The Nation’s Program for Affordable Birth Control and Reproductive Health Care

What Health Care Services Does Title X Provide?

Thanks to Title X, reproductive health services were delivered to roughly 2.8 million people in 2023: nearly two-thirds of the patients served had incomes at or under the federal poverty level; and nearly one-third lacked health insurance. Oftentimes, people who get services through the program don't even know Title X exists. The program requires health care providers to use a sliding-fee scale. And patients qualify for free reproductive health services if their income is at or below 100% of the federal poverty level ($30,000 for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.).

Title X health care services include:

• Birth control
• Cervical and breast cancer screenings
• Family planning education
• Basic infertility services
• STI testing and treatment 
• Wellness exams

Planned Parenthood health centers are proud to be part of the Title X network.

Planned Parenthood health centers have proudly participated in the Title X program since it began. But for a 2+ year period during President Trump's first term, Planned Parenthood health centers, along with other providers, were forced out of the program because of the administration's Title X "gag" rule. In 2019, the "gag" rule imposed by President Trump barred providers from informing patients of the full range of pregnancy options. That put providers like Planned Parenthood health centers in an unconscionable position: Banning any and all discussion of abortion — essentially censorship — undermines the patient-doctor relationship.

The censorship, or "gag," guidelines, undercut providers' ethical responsibility to provide the best, medically accurate information. The rule also made it impossible for patients in the program to make fully informed decisions about their health and their bodies.

Planned Parenthood health centers, along with many other providers, were forced to exit the Title X program. The “gag” rule slashed the national family planning program's patient capacity in half. It forced almost 900 Title X sites, including more than 400 Planned Parenthood health centers, out of Title X, according to the Guttmacher Institute. And as a result, the already-burdensome hoops required to get care became even greater for the very communities Title X was created to help: Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people, young people, people with low incomes, and those in rural areas.

Fortunately, in 2021, Planned Parenthood health centers and other providers were able to re-enter the program. That's when the Biden administration repealed the “gag” rule and implemented a new rule that required Title X participants to provide patients with the high-quality and comprehensive care they deserve.

Roughly 36% of all Title X services across the country in 2023 were provided by Planned Parenthood health centers.

But once again, President Trump has targeted patient care with new attacks on Title X. 

As the current Trump administration continues its efforts to dismantle access to reproductive care, Planned Parenthood and its health center patients face newly intense threats to Title X. During 2025, the Trump administration “temporarily withheld” funding from 16 participating providers, including from all Planned Parenthood health centers in the program. Holding back funds blocks people from getting birth control, STI testing and treatment, lifesaving cancer screenings, and more.

The Trump administration’s attack on Title X also forced Planned Parenthood health centers to close. For nine months, patients in medically underserved communities faced even fewer options to get affordable health care.

More attacks are likely.

The devastating consequences are far from over. The Trump administration has proposed ending the Title X program entirely. The Secretary of Health and Human Services — which operates Title X — supports another “gag” rule, and the department has indicated it plans to release a rule soon.

Blocking access to quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health services through the Title X program upends the health of Planned Parenthood health center patients and puts lives at grave risk.

During President Trump's 2024 campaign, baseless and cruel attacks on diversity, particularly on LGBTQ+ communities and Black and Latino people, were a cornerstone message. Not surprisingly, the administration's targeted attacks do the most harm to people who already face structural racism and discriminatory barriers to health care. Inequities caused by systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other issues drive income disparity and account for a large portion of people who rely on Title X.

In 2023, 23% of patients in the Title X program identified as Black or African American and more than 35% identified as Hispanic or Latino. Withholding Title X funding would likely worsen the poor health outcomes these communities already experience. 

The hardest hit by this assault on reproductive freedom are Black women and Latinas, whose bodies have long been policed in this country. With Title X in its crosshairs once again, the Trump administration will deepen existing health crises.

• Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage, experience higher rates of cervical cancer, and have higher breast and cervical cancer mortality rates. Without access to Title X providers, hurdles to getting critical health services — like cancer screenings — would be even harder to surmount.
• In a recent study, more than half of trans people said cost was the reason they delayed or went without health care. Withholding funding from Title X puts affordable care out of reach for even more trans people.
• Young people’s access to reproductive health care is increasingly subject to restrictions. Most Title X patients are under 30 years old, according to data from 2014 through 2023.

Title X was created so that people could get the care they need. Planned Parenthood health centers across the country proudly participate in the Title X program and will continue to do everything possible to provide patients with quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care

_{This page was last updated February 2026.}