Under the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopted the “Domestic Gag Rule,” which prohibited federally funded family planning services from giving accurate medical information to patients about birth control, preventive care, and referrals for abortion.
Instead, the Domestic Gag Rule prioritized directing federal funding to crisis pregnancy centers and other religious organizations that deceive women to prevent them from accessing needed reproductive care.
Fortunately, the Biden Administration is proposing to revise this rule and remove the harmful provisions that limit access to abortion and other services.
Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule did nothing to improve health care for patients. Instead, it limits options for women and requires that doctors and nurses conceal information and lie to the patients counting on their medical advice—all to appease religious extremists.
The previous rule forced major providers like Planned Parenthood out of the program, depriving millions of low-income women access to vital services such as birth control, cancer screenings, abortion referrals, STD testing and treatment, or even general women’s health exams.
