Governor Baker Signs Bill to Restore Funding for Title X Services

Press Release

Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, joined by Legislative Leadership and family planning providers, today participated in the ceremonial bill signing of H.3638, An Act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2019 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects (Title X). The legislation ensures local providers will continue to have access to family planning resources, previously provided by the federal government. This bill provides state funding for eligible entities so they can continue providing health care services, including physical exams, counseling and reproductive cancer screenings. Governor Baker was joined by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Framingham), Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, Julia E. Kehoe, President and CEO of Health Imperatives, Gabrielle Ross, Executive Director of Health Quarters, John J. Drew, President and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and several other members of the Legislature.

"Signing this bill into law ensures women's health providers across Massachusetts will continue to have access to these critical funds," said Governor Baker. "We are proud that Massachusetts remains a national leader in women's health care, and we thank our colleagues in the Legislature for their swift response to changes in federal policy."

"We are pleased to work with our legislative colleagues on this bill and send an unequivocal message to women in Massachusetts that these services are important and will remain protected," said Lt. Governor Polito.

"The House of Representatives has never stopped working to keep in place protections for women's health, and I'm proud the House moved swiftly on this issue," said House Speaker Robert DeLeo. "Today more than 75,000 individuals can feel safer that now family planning services across the Commonwealth are protected. Thank you to my colleagues in the House, especially Chair Michlewitz and Vice Chair Garlick, and to Governor Baker and Senate President Spilka for their work on this issue."

"I applaud the Governor for acting swiftly on the Legislature's actions to ensure resources are still available for Title X family planning and health services, despite new damaging rules out of Washington," said Senate President Karen Spilka. "Together, we are sending the message that all women and men across the Commonwealth will continue to have access to vital health services, even if the federal government choses to leave them behind. Today we have shown the country what a proactive government, who puts its citizens first, looks like."

"The Trump-Pence administration's domestic gag rule will dismantle Title X, the nation's program for affordable, preventive reproductive health care, threatening the health care of 4 million people across the country, and 75,000 people right here in Massachusetts," said Dr. Jennifer Childs-Roshak, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. "I applaud the Baker Administration and the Massachusetts legislature for taking swift action to defend access to affordable, preventive services like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment. We will continue to fight this dangerous, unethical rule through every possible avenue because all people -- no matter what state they live in -- deserve access to affordable reproductive health care."

"Health Imperatives believes the Commonwealth's commitment to providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all residents, regardless of their ability to pay, will improve birth and health outcomes," said Julia E. Kehoe, President and CEO of Health Imperatives. "Investing in effective family planning services also reduces the need for more costly government programs and improves family stability and economic security because young, low-income women will be better able to achieve their educational and career goals."

"The bold and swift decision of Gov. Baker and the State Legislature to replace federal funds with state funds reflects the will of Massachusetts voters who overwhelmingly support unfettered access to the full range of reproductive healthcare services, including access to information about prenatal care, adoption and abortion," said Gabrielle Ross, Executive Director of Health Quarters. "Health Quarters, the Title X subrecipient for the North Shore and Merrimack Valley wholeheartedly laud Governor Baker and the Legislature's decision to stand up for women, especially at a time a time when so few appear willing to do so in Washington, DC."

"ABCD deeply appreciates the extraordinary support for the Title X public health program shown by Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen E. Spilka, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, and our state legislators," said John J. Drew, President and CEO of ABCD. "Serving over 29,000 clients each year in partnership with 21 health care agencies in the Greater Boston area, we provide access to preventive reproductive health care that enables patients to make informed personal decisions. As a long-standing grantee for Title X, ABCD thanks these leaders for their unwavering commitment to improving the lives of the Commonwealth's most vulnerable residents."

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