TITLE X

What is Title X??
     Title X of the Public Health Service Act is the national family planning services program, which spends over $200,000,000 a year providing birth control services to persons of all ages and income levels. Grantees are forbidden to discriminate of the basis of age and marital status, which means they must provide services to minors of any age. In addition, federal regulations impose stringent "confidentiality" requirements on them. Under no circumstances may they initiate contact with the parents of a minor client, and they may not even comply with state laws requiring the reporting to public authorities of suspected instances of child abuse.

     This policy helps child abusers. For example, a junior high teacher in Illinois carried on a sexual relationship with one of his students for more than a year, beginning when she was in eighth grade. He took her to a Title X funded clinic where she received periodic injections of Depo Provera. This not only minimized the risk of pregnancy, but also helped prevent the girl's parents or the child protective agencies from finding out about the abuse.

This policy is against the public interest because:

• It violates the rights of parents to care for their own children. Parents are legally responsible for the health care of their children and have a common law right to consent to their treatment. When govnerment claims a right to provide medical treatment to minors and keep it a secret form their parents, government is claiming too much power.
• It exposes young girls to exploitation, either by predatory criminals as in the Illinois case, or by creating an environment within a peer group in which girls are expected to be sexually available. Parental awareness is a protective factor.
• It interferes with good medical practice since it is impossible for physicians at the family planning clinic to obtain the medical records of their minor patients without violating the federal "confidentiality" requirements.
• It drives a wedge between parents and children precisely at a point where parental involvement is most important. New research data overwhelmingly shows that parent-teen communication is far more effective than contraceptive availability in preventing teen pregnancy.

Go Back To Top

The following letter was written to Chairman John Porter of the Labor, Education, Health, and Human Services Subcommittee:

Go Back To Top 

TARGET LIST ON TITLE X

REPUBLICANS

• Miller, Regula and Skeen changed their position and voted right in Committee.
• Cooksey did not vote last year, but has said he will be with us.
• M. Bono, Wilson and Fosella were not in the House last year.  Fosella should be solid. Sonny Bono voted with us last year, and this should be a factor with Mrs. Bono.
• Buyer, LaTourette, Shuster, and Thornberry voted against us on the floor last year, but they all supported Istook's 1996 amendment requiring parental consent for Title X services to minors.

DEMOCRATS

• Danner, Hamilton, Stupak and Roemer all supported the 1996 Istook floor amendment but voted for Castle's substitute last year.
• Borski was lobbied very heavily by his constituents last year and went the wrong way; his opponent this year wants to make an issue of this.
• The Tennessee Democrats are marginal on pro-life issues but might be responsive to a good grass roots effort from their Districts.
• Strickland has a tough race and voted right on PBA and CCPA.
• John, Kanjorski, Kleczka, Kucinich, Manton, Mascara, McNulty, Weygand, Roemer, Stupak, Danner and Borski are all pro-life Catholics for whom the USCC letter might make a difference.

WE NEED AT LEAST 18 OF THE MEMBERS ON THIS LIST!

Go Back To Top