Urgent: Vote NO on the anti-contraception Vitter Amendment
Some time today, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) may offer an anti-family
planning amendment during Senate floor consideration of the FY 2009
Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 1105). This amendment (S. Amdt.
601) constitutes a full-scale assault on family planning providers,
and must not prevail. Please take 5 minutes to call your Senators and
urge them to vote NO on the Vitter amendment. This amendment would
prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving funds through Title X and
limit access to contraception for low-income men and women. This is
not the way to achieve the universal goal of reducing the number of
unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion, and it is crucial
that the Senate hear this message loud and clear from providers in
their states. Please call your Senators now to urge them to vote NO
on the Vitter amendment. To speak with your Senators, call the
Congressional Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask to speak to your
Senators' offices.
S. Amdt. 601 would prohibit Planned Parenthood from receiving funds
for family planning projects under Title X:
* The Vitter amendment constitutes a full-scale attack on family
planning for low-income individuals.
* The Vitter amendment would defund approximately 575 family
planning clinics, almost 13% of Title X-funded clinics nationwide.
This amendment could defund entire health care provider networks that
span large geographic areas. Passage of this amendment would eliminate
Title X-funded family planning services completely in Connecticut,
Wisconsin and Utah, as Planned Parenthood is the sole Title X grantee
for those states.
* The Vitter amendment could cut off nearly one million women-more
than one in five women who receive Title X services-from their family
planning provider. Two-thirds of Title X clients have incomes below
the federal poverty level, and most are uninsured and do not qualify
for Medicaid. Many of these women-particularly those who live in rural
areas--could face tremendous difficulty finding other health care
providers able and willing to deliver the high-quality family planning
services required of Title X, placing them at increased risk of
unintended pregnancy and abortion.
* Title X funds do not now, nor have they ever, paid for abortion.
Current federal law and policy prohibit Title X funds from being used
to provide, promote, or encourage abortions. This amendment
specifically targets Planned Parenthood, despite the fact that no
violation of the prohibitions on abortion-related activities has ever
been identified over the program's more than three decade history.
Time is of the essence. Please call your Senators now to urge them
to vote NO on the Vitter amendment. To speak with your Senators, call
the Congressional Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask to speak to your
Senators' offices.
