Tell Congress to Increase Funding for Family-Planning Program
Funding levels for Title X ("ten"), the nation's federal family-planning program, are about to be proposed. The program need a funding boost to maintain effectiveness.
Millions of Americans have no health insurance and, for many of them, this program is their only source of health care. The funding is crucial to ensuring women's access to birth control, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, screenings for breast and cervical cancer and hypertension, prenatal care and well-baby care, among other things.
Urge your members of Congress to protect family-planning services for millions of women and men this year - and for years to come!
Dear [Decision maker],
I am writing to urge you to increase funding for the Title X program in the FY'09 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education funding bill.
As you know, Title X serves approximately five million low-income women and men nationwide; for many women, particularly those who cannot afford private health insurance and who do not qualify for Medicaid, Title X clinics provide their only source of basic health care.
If Title X funding had increased at only the rate of inflation since 1980, it would now be funded at more than $725 million. Right now, Title X's funding level is less than half that amount. At a minimum, Title X needs to be funded at $385 million to maintain quality services.
[Your comment here]
Please take steps to increase critical Title X funding in the FY '09 health budget and protect the millions of women and men who count on this critical program.
