Katie Porter: “Mr. Greenwood's amendment protects a good program, a program that Members should support. One of our priorities in this…”

“Mr. Greenwood's amendment protects a good program, a program that Members should support. One of our priorities in this bill is public health programs that help expand access to care for the underserved. Title X--as George Bush and Richard Nixon recognized--is such a program. 1. It supports a broad range of reproductive services to women-- including assistance for women who are having trouble conceiving children--as well as screening for breast and cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections and hypertension. These are life saving, life giving, life enhancing services. 2. In 1996, 4.3 million clients were served--83 percent with incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Everyone above the poverty line pays something for their care on a sliding scale. For many working poor, Title X provides their only access to the health care system. 3. The law has always barred Title X from paying for any abortion under any circumstances. This is not an abortion issue. Title X is really an anti-abortion program: roughly half of all unintended pregnancies end in abortion. It is estimated that, in 1994, one million unintended pregnancies were averted as a result of services received at Title X projects. Title X prevents the unintended pregnancies that lead to abortions and that lead to low-birthweight babies. Title X improves maternal and child health, it lowers the incidence of unintended pregnancy and abortion and it lowers rates of STDs.”