Planned Parenthood Welcomes President’s Investments in Women’s Health in FY16 Budget

Planned Parenthood Federation of America welcomed the fiscally responsible investments in women’s health programs outlined in President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget which was released today.  The budget makes investments in programs that are proven to work to improve women’s health and save taxpayer money in the long run -- including the Title X Family Planning Program and sex education programs that provide young people with accurate information to make responsible decisions about their health, including the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI) and the Personal Responsibility and Education Program (PREP).

Statement from Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“President Obama’s budget is an important commitment to ensuring our country continues to move forward, not backward, on women’s health. The budget makes fiscally responsible investments in programs that are proven to work, including sex education and the Title X family planning program. Thanks to these programs, we have made tremendous progress in public health outcomes as a country. In particular, improved access to a full range of birth control services has resulted in forty year lows in teen pregnancy and abortion rates.

“These investments in women’s health services are not only providing women with more control over their health and their own family planning, but they are also a great deal for taxpayers. According to research released by the Guttmacher Institute, for every $1 we invest in family planning services, we save $7 in the long run. 

“We commend the administration for excluding the current ban on the District of Columbia from using local revenues for abortion, but are disappointed that the budget would continue other unnecessary restrictions on abortion.

“As the nation’s leading advocate and provider of women’s reproductive health care, Planned Parenthood sees every day that the best way to prevent unintended pregnancies is to invest in and ensure more women have access to affordable, quality reproductive health care. The President’s budget is an important step in that direction, and we hope Congress will join this commitment to moving forward on women’s health care.”

The President’s budget includes an increase in funding for the Title X Family Planning Program, which helps provide millions of women across the country with access to basic reproductive health care like birth control.  The budget also demonstrates a continued commitment to funding evidence-based sexuality education programs. 

The President’s budget excludes the DC abortion ban, a provision restricting the District of Columbia from deciding whether to use locally-raised revenue to help low-income women access safe abortion.  Unfortunately, the budget continues existing abortion restrictions, like the Hyde Amendment, which severely restrict access to safe abortion care for women who depend on the government for their health care.

Advances in women’s health have paved the way for women to be a driving force in our economy, and access to reproductive health care is directly related to women’s ability to finish school and succeed professionally. You can read a fact sheet with more information on the gains made for women and families thanks to investments in family planning here.

●      A 2012 University of Michigan study found that fully one-third of the wage gains women have made since the 1960s are the result of access to oral contraceptives. This study also found that the decrease in the gap among 25–49-year-olds between men’s and women’s annual incomes “would have been 10 percent smaller in the 1980s and 30 percent smaller in the 1990s” in the absence of widespread legal birth control access.

●      Additional studies found that access to contraception contributed significantly to more young women obtaining at least some college education and to more college-educated women pursuing advanced professional degrees.

●      Highlighting the fact that birth control is a top economic driver for women, Bloomberg Businessweek recently listed contraception as one of the most transformational developments in the business sector in the last 85 years.

###

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With approximately 700 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.