AG Bonta and AG Lopez are co-leading a coalition of 21 attorneys general in sending a letter to the Trump Administration to express serious concern with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision to withhold tens of millions of dollars in Title X funding. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon, Title X is the nation’s only federal program dedicated to family planning for low-income and uninsured individuals. On March 31, HHS issued letters to a wide range of grant recipients that fund nearly 25% of all Title X clinics, indicating that these grantees’ Title X grants were being withheld. In today’s letter, the attorneys general write that the withholding of funds will lead to more unintended pregnancies, more sexually transmitted infections (STIs), increased rates of undiagnosed HIV, increased rates of cervical cancer, and a higher burden on over-stretched state budgets. The attorneys general urge HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to immediately reverse this decision and fully fund these critical programs.   

“Exactly one month ago, the Trump Administration decided to withhold tens of millions of dollars in Title X funding. Today, my fellow attorneys general and I are urging the Trump Administration to do the right thing. HHS Secretary Kennedy claims to want to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ — restoring Title X funding would do just that. Our letter underscores the many important services that Title X funding helps to make possible for low-income households across the United States. We are committed to protecting those services and will continue to monitor the Trump Administration’s future actions.”- AG Bonta