As part of the Trump’s financing cuts, local leaders of planned parenting claim that they are disappointed with the newly approved city budget, which did not include the product in sexual and reproductive health care.
The budget agreement worth $ 6.8 billion was approved on June 12, in a series of 15-1 votes. Provides gradual reduction in business taxes, along with the financing of the residential plan of the mayor of Cherlle L. Parker, but does not include funds for planned parenting.
“This time we felt extremely confident and we didn’t expect it at all,” says Signe Espinosis, executive director at Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. “I felt like a blow.”
In 2024, planned South -East parenting of Pennsylvania Received $ 500,000 in city funds from a city led by a democratic one. An additional USD 450,000 has been granted to other non -pro -profit organizations aimed at extending reproductive care. This year, Planned Parenthood asked for a subsidy of $ 1 million – twice as much as the previous allocation.
Dayle Steinberg, president and general director of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, said that the organization is currently “in the daughter of the federal administration.” In March, the two most hardworking centers of planned parenting in Philadelphia lost a total of USD 332,000 in the title X Money due to freezing of the financing of Trump’s administration.
Now Steinberg He said that the organization is preparing for the loss of even more federal dollars after the American House adopted a budget account This may block the reimbursement of Medicaid costs to some non -family planning and reproductive health.
Espinosis said that during voting, planned parenting met with members of the Council, including Kendra Brooks, the leader of the Task Group for Reproductive Freedom in the city and a member of the parties of the Progressive working families.
A member of the Brooks Council cast a lonely vote “no” to the budget, saying that the plan did not do enough to protect philadelphians. (A member of the council Nicolas O’Rourke, also part of the family parties, was absent in voting because of a family medical accident, but said that he also opposed this year’s budget).
“The City Council took a significant step forward in last year’s budget with the first direct financing of planned parenting and further financing of the fund for abortion liberation,” said Brooks during the last session of the Council on June 12. “Now, at the same time, Congress Republicans are aimed at limiting the financing of planned parenting throughout the country.
A joint statement made available by Brooks and O’Rourke also quoted federal cuts, The saying that “this budget ignores this reality.”
Joe Grace, spokesman for Parker Administration, said: “The city has no budget capacity to cover federal funding reduction.” The proposed element of the contract was abandoned after months of public interrogations and “negotiations of budget cooperation” between the mayor’s offices and the chairman of the Council.
Grace said that the Health Department Philadelphia offers family planning and sexual health services in health centers throughout the city. Eight centers offer smacks, medical gynecological procedures, mammograms and contraception. Two centers provide confidential tests and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. The city also finances and runs a network of local HIV testing sites.
According to Steinberg and Espinosis, over 20,000 Philadelphians receive healthcare services annually from planned parenting. From the time of freezing the financing of the title X, the organization had to reduce non -clinical expenses to continue to provide care.
“Most of the patients we see do not realize that the funds have been reduced,” said Steinberg. “There is no doctor who could fill the gap in what Planned Parenthood provides. We would have to find some financing to continue to provide services.”
