Rep. Diana DeGette cites Guttmacher data showing FQHCs would need a 56% capacity increase to replace Planned Parenthood, warning that proposed cuts to Medicaid and Title X threaten birth control access for millions.
Rep. Diana DeGette on why "defunding" Planned Parenthood would undermine US contraceptive access
Transcript: Yesterday, May 13, 2025, the Guttmacher Institute issued a survey which shows that federally qualified health centers offering contraceptive care would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 56%, or an additional 1 million contraceptive clients.
Health department sites offering contraceptive care would have to increase their capacity to provide the services by 28% and so on. What the Guttmacher Institute found in its survey is that asking federally qualified health centers to become the main source of publicly funded family planning care is not a viable policy proposal.
And what's worse, they say the push is happening against the backdrop of efforts to drastically cut the Medicaid program and eliminate the Title X National Family Planning Program entirely.
So not only are we going to take everybody's other health care away, not only are we going to have the $35 copayments, now we're going to take people's birth control away.
I just want to ask my friends on the other side of the aisle, do you really want to make this bill a vehicle to take away birth control and family planning for over a million American women in your districts? I don't think so.