Planned Parenthood Condemns House Bill That Attacks Public Health Funds, Expands Ineffective Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs

WASHINGTON - Planned Parenthood Action Fund condemns legislation passed by the House of Representatives that would make dramatic cuts to public health and prevention funding under the Affordable Care Act as part of a reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. While the bill extends funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs under the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), it also funds ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage (AOUM) programs, and would inappropriately rename the current AOUM program the “Youth Empowerment Program.”

Statement from Dana Singiser, Vice President for Government Relations and Public Policy, Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“This bill decimates crucial funding for prevention and public health. This is not the way to support health care for children, teens, and millions of others. Withholding critical, possibly life-saving information about unintended pregnancy, STIs and HIV puts young people’s health and future at risk — the exact opposite of so-called ‘youth empowerment.’ Congress should focus on funding evidence-based programs, such as the Personal Responsibility Education Program, not on ignoring science and evidence-based research to promote an ideological agenda.”

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.