Trump administration slashes tens of millions in funding from Planned Parenthood
The Title X funds were designated for birth control and various non-abortion services.
TroibNews 
The Trump administration is withholding tens of millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood clinics, which provide crucial health services like contraception and STI testing to low-income Americans.
On Monday, nine Planned Parenthood state affiliates that receive federal funds from the long-standing Title X family planning program received notices indicating that their funding is being “temporarily withheld.” These notifications point to “possible violations” of federal civil rights law and President Donald Trump’s executive orders, including restrictions on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as policies against “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”
The letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates, many situated in Republican-controlled states, references the clinics' mission statements and other public documents highlighting their “commitment to black communities” as evidence of noncompliance. Amy Margolis, the deputy director of HHS’ Office of Population Affairs, argued that the materials “paint a picture of Planned Parenthood that suggests it is engaged, across its affiliates, in widespread practices across hiring, operations, and patient treatment that unavoidably employ race in a negative manner.” The letter further criticized the organization for serving undocumented immigrants, stating that the funding was being withheld because Planned Parenthood “overtly encourages illegal aliens to receive care.”
HHS has given Planned Parenthood a 10-day period to demonstrate compliance with the Trump administration's executive orders, after which the organization will learn whether its grants are suspended or terminated.
One affected affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, operates 33 health centers across six states. Its CEO, Rebecca Gibron, expressed concern about the funding denial in an interview, stating that “patients will suffer” if the funding is not restored. She emphasized, “Cutting Title X funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates will only drive up people's health care costs, or, frankly, prevent them from accessing health care at all,” and added that her legal team is exploring all options. Gibron accused the administration of wanting to “shut down Planned Parenthood health centers to appease their anti-abortion backers, and they're willing to take away birth control, cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment to get their way.”
Other providers within the federal family planning program also received notifications recently concerning their 2025 Title X funding, with many receiving less than half of what they requested or nothing at all. Essential Access Health, which allocates Title X funds to clinics in California, informed PMG that its grant was withheld as well.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated that the agency is withholding payments to 16 Title X providers, including the nine Planned Parenthood affiliates, to ensure conformity with federal law and grant terms, as well as responsible management of taxpayer funds. He clarified that grants totaling $27.5 million, part of Title X’s annual budget exceeding $200 million, are currently frozen and under review.
Clare Coleman, the CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association—representing most Title X providers—noted that medical groups in the program are facing penalties for adhering to the rules. These groups applied for funding under the Biden administration, during a time when “health equity was a core priority,” which was prior to Trump's inauguration and the issuance of any executive orders. In their applications, many highlighted their commitment to diversity, which they are now being penalized for.
Coleman commented, “The administration would have been well within its rights to say, ‘We have a new president with new priorities, so we're going to give you 30 days, 45 days, even just two weeks, to amend your application.’ If you want public health programs to comply with the president's stated priorities, you give them a fair chance to demonstrate compliance, and if there are entities that refuse to demonstrate compliance, then that's on them.”
Gibron criticized the Trump administration's decision to bypass the formal rulemaking process, which allows for public input, calling it undemocratic and potentially unlawful. “Creating chaos and confusion and anxiety is the point,” she remarked, adding, “This is similar to what we have been seeing since the inauguration of Trump — a billionaire running the federal government and making decisions that impact people's lives.”
Health policy experts have cautioned that the funding cuts could have a more detrimental effect than the restrictions imposed during Trump's first term, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s elimination of federal protections for abortion under Roe v. Wade in 2022.
During Trump’s initial administration, rules were enacted prohibiting Title X providers from referring patients for abortions or discussing the procedure as an option, requiring clinics to separate facilities for abortion and other services. Additionally, Title X rules were modified to allow funding for faith-based centers that do not provide condoms or hormonal birth control.
More than a dozen grantees, managing over 900 clinics nationwide, exited the Title X program in protest, including 11 state health departments and all participating Planned Parenthood affiliates. Consequently, the network served 844,083 fewer clients in 2019—the first year the rule was implemented—compared to the preceding year, according to HHS data. Specifically, 225,688 fewer patients accessed oral contraceptives, while 49,803 received hormonal implants, and 86,008 fewer individuals obtained intrauterine devices.
While the Biden administration rescinded Trump’s Title X rule in 2021, Coleman asserts that the network has not yet fully recuperated. She referenced HHS’s most recent 2023 audit of the program, which indicated that it served around 2.8 million people, significantly fewer than the 4 million patients it reached annually when Trump first took office in 2017.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
On Monday, nine Planned Parenthood state affiliates that receive federal funds from the long-standing Title X family planning program received notices indicating that their funding is being “temporarily withheld.” These notifications point to “possible violations” of federal civil rights law and President Donald Trump’s executive orders, including restrictions on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as policies against “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”
The letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates, many situated in Republican-controlled states, references the clinics' mission statements and other public documents highlighting their “commitment to black communities” as evidence of noncompliance. Amy Margolis, the deputy director of HHS’ Office of Population Affairs, argued that the materials “paint a picture of Planned Parenthood that suggests it is engaged, across its affiliates, in widespread practices across hiring, operations, and patient treatment that unavoidably employ race in a negative manner.” The letter further criticized the organization for serving undocumented immigrants, stating that the funding was being withheld because Planned Parenthood “overtly encourages illegal aliens to receive care.”
HHS has given Planned Parenthood a 10-day period to demonstrate compliance with the Trump administration's executive orders, after which the organization will learn whether its grants are suspended or terminated.
One affected affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, operates 33 health centers across six states. Its CEO, Rebecca Gibron, expressed concern about the funding denial in an interview, stating that “patients will suffer” if the funding is not restored. She emphasized, “Cutting Title X funding for Planned Parenthood affiliates will only drive up people's health care costs, or, frankly, prevent them from accessing health care at all,” and added that her legal team is exploring all options. Gibron accused the administration of wanting to “shut down Planned Parenthood health centers to appease their anti-abortion backers, and they're willing to take away birth control, cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment to get their way.”
Other providers within the federal family planning program also received notifications recently concerning their 2025 Title X funding, with many receiving less than half of what they requested or nothing at all. Essential Access Health, which allocates Title X funds to clinics in California, informed PMG that its grant was withheld as well.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon stated that the agency is withholding payments to 16 Title X providers, including the nine Planned Parenthood affiliates, to ensure conformity with federal law and grant terms, as well as responsible management of taxpayer funds. He clarified that grants totaling $27.5 million, part of Title X’s annual budget exceeding $200 million, are currently frozen and under review.
Clare Coleman, the CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association—representing most Title X providers—noted that medical groups in the program are facing penalties for adhering to the rules. These groups applied for funding under the Biden administration, during a time when “health equity was a core priority,” which was prior to Trump's inauguration and the issuance of any executive orders. In their applications, many highlighted their commitment to diversity, which they are now being penalized for.
Coleman commented, “The administration would have been well within its rights to say, ‘We have a new president with new priorities, so we're going to give you 30 days, 45 days, even just two weeks, to amend your application.’ If you want public health programs to comply with the president's stated priorities, you give them a fair chance to demonstrate compliance, and if there are entities that refuse to demonstrate compliance, then that's on them.”
Gibron criticized the Trump administration's decision to bypass the formal rulemaking process, which allows for public input, calling it undemocratic and potentially unlawful. “Creating chaos and confusion and anxiety is the point,” she remarked, adding, “This is similar to what we have been seeing since the inauguration of Trump — a billionaire running the federal government and making decisions that impact people's lives.”
Health policy experts have cautioned that the funding cuts could have a more detrimental effect than the restrictions imposed during Trump's first term, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s elimination of federal protections for abortion under Roe v. Wade in 2022.
During Trump’s initial administration, rules were enacted prohibiting Title X providers from referring patients for abortions or discussing the procedure as an option, requiring clinics to separate facilities for abortion and other services. Additionally, Title X rules were modified to allow funding for faith-based centers that do not provide condoms or hormonal birth control.
More than a dozen grantees, managing over 900 clinics nationwide, exited the Title X program in protest, including 11 state health departments and all participating Planned Parenthood affiliates. Consequently, the network served 844,083 fewer clients in 2019—the first year the rule was implemented—compared to the preceding year, according to HHS data. Specifically, 225,688 fewer patients accessed oral contraceptives, while 49,803 received hormonal implants, and 86,008 fewer individuals obtained intrauterine devices.
While the Biden administration rescinded Trump’s Title X rule in 2021, Coleman asserts that the network has not yet fully recuperated. She referenced HHS’s most recent 2023 audit of the program, which indicated that it served around 2.8 million people, significantly fewer than the 4 million patients it reached annually when Trump first took office in 2017.
Alejandro Jose Martinez for TROIB News
