Add Your Voice to End the Trump-era “Domestic Gag Rule” by May 17

Monday, May 17, is the final day for the public to submit comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the Biden Administration’s proposed rule change that would end the Trump-era “domestic gag rule.” The domestic gag rule targets the Title X family planning program with regulations limiting access to reproductive health care services.

Members of the public and organizations are invited to submit comments on the proposed rule change through the U.S. government regulations portal. Make your voice heard by following the instructions below.

The Biden Administration’s proposed rule change aims to restore the Title X program by reinstating regulations instituted in 2000 with modifications intended to strengthen the program and ensure access to reproductive health care, particularly for people living on low incomes. The proposed rule aims to undo the harm caused by the domestic gag rule and work toward advancing health equity in the program.

Title X provides reproductive health care services to millions of people who are under- and uninsured. Health providers in the network provide an essential role in ensuring access to contraceptive care and counseling, STI testing and treatment, HIV services, cancer screenings, and other preventive health care.

The domestic gag rule, which prohibits providers in the Title X network from referring patients for abortion care and imposes costly and burdensome requirements on health care providers, resulted in more than 1,000 health centers across 33 states leaving the program and nearly halved the network’s capacity to serve patients. 

To submit a comment, visit the U.S. government regulations portal for “Ensuring Access to Equitable, Affordable, Client-Centered, Quality Family Planning Services” (Document ID HHS-OS-2021-0010-0001)

Write your own comment or adapt this message: 

“Thank you for your proposed rule to rescind the harmful domestic gag rule. I fully support HHS’s proposal to reinstate program requirements rooted in medical ethics and nationally recognized clinical standards, not ideology. I also applaud HHS for the proposed rule’s emphasis on health equity. I urge you to move quickly to finalize the rule and ensure that qualified providers can swiftly reenter the program and resume providing Title X reproductive health care to patients.”

Read more: 

• Biden Administration to Rescind Trump-era “Domestic Gag Rule,” 04.16.21 
• The First 100 Days of the Biden-Harris Administration: Reproductive Rights, Health and Justice, 04.29.21
• Center Submits Comment on Proposed Rule to End Trump-era “Domestic Gag Rule”, 05.25.21
• The Center’s U.S. federal administrative advocacy work