New Legislation Bans Abortion Referrals

 

RUBY LA Staff Writer

A new regulation by the Trump Administration was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a part of Title X, a government family planning program that serves four million people. The purpose of Title X is to promote positive birth outcomes and healthy families by allowing individuals to decide on the number and spacing of their children.

This regulation prevents taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring patients for abortions, if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer subsidies. A subsidy is a sum of money granted by the government to assist an industry or business so that the price of service can remain low. The implementation of the regulation is not ethical since these clinics are needed by teens and young parents who require assistance on matters of family planning.

The new regulation from the Trump Administration only affects clinics and programs which are funded by the taxpayers’ money. Programs like Planned Parenthood serve about 41 percent of Title X patients and tend to receive 60 million dollars annually for funding, which allows the program to provide aid at a lower cost. As a result, they will have to comply with the new rule which prohibits abortions as a method of family planning.

The rule also states that abortion counseling or referrals would not longer be required. However, it is required that there should be a clear financial and physical separation between Title X funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning. Despite the good intentions, for example the prevention of the loss of human life, the new regulation would ultimately harm patients overall.

The reason this would harm them is because some Title X patients are teenagers or members of low-income families and the option of abortion would be better for them to take. Teenagers who have been impregnated should be given the option to have an abortion. This is because their unborn child will provide difficulties in the future for its parents since it will be hard for these teens to attend school, get an education and attend college while trying to care for a child.

According to USA Today, it costs a family 233,610 dollars to take care of a single child from birth to age 18. Low-income families do not make a lot of money, so it is better for them to be given the option of abortion to prevent further hardships like debt since they will not make enough to provide for themselves and their children.

The implementation of this rule is unethical and unjust since it also prevents people who need abortions for life-saving medical reasons from getting them. Some abortions are also for non viable pregnancies. The regulation, although it may be initially meant to have good intentions and preserve human life, is not an ethical idea in regards to families or women who may suffer complications due to pregnancy.