During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, PPNNE Urges Screenings, Calls on Congress to Protect Access to Preventative Health Care Through Title X

CONCORD -- During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) in New Hampshire is urging Granite Staters to reach out to their health care providers for more information about their breast cancer risks and screening recommendations. It’s more important than ever that all people have accurate information about their breast cancer risks and screening recommendations, as well as access to affordable, lifesaving preventive health care so they can get diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage. 

Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer affecting women of any age, race, or ethnicity — yet because Black and Hispanic women face more barriers to accessing health care in the U.S. than non-Hispanic White women, they are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages when cancer is more advanced and less treatable. 

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England provides breast cancer screenings as part of the full spectrum of reproductive health care offered at its five New Hampshire health centers. PPNNE in New Hampshire provided 1,253 breast cancer screenings in 2018.

The Trump administration’s unethical Title X gag rule dismantled Title X, the national family planning program, putting at risk access to essential preventative care, including breast cancer screenings, for more than 4 million nationwide and 16,000 in New Hampshire. Fortunately, a final New Hampshire state budget was signed into law that includes funding to protect Granite State patients from the gag rule.

While the budget is a major victory for New Hampshire patients, access to reproductive health care should not depend on what state a person lives in. Congress has the power to stop the Trump administration’s unethical gag rule on Title X. It must take action to overturn the gag rule to protect health care access for more than 4 million people nationwide. Without cancer screenings and other reproductive health services provided through the Title X program, low-income people are unable to access preventive health care, which is critical to living healthy lives. 

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Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care for women, men and young people across the State of New Hampshire. We serve New Hampshire residents through 6 health centers in Claremont, Derry, Exeter, Keene, Manchester and White River Junction, VT. Last year we saw nearly 14,000 patients at these sites.