The state’s Planned Parenthood chapter announced it secured a $7 million grant, bringing Tennessee’s Title X funding back to the state.
Title X helps states provide affordable reproductive health services — like cervical cancer screenings, STI testing and birth control — to low-income residents. Federal health officials distribute that funding a few ways, either giving it to clinics directly or routing it to state governments. Until this year, Tennessee’s funding went to the state’s health department.
In April, Tennessee became the first state to lose its Title X funding under a new Biden-era rule.
Ashley Coffield, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, issued a statement on Tuesday. She said her organization partnered with another chapter to obtain the federal funding.
“We partnered with Virginia League for Planned Parenthood to bring the money back to Tennessee,” the statement reads. “Virginia League for Planned Parenthood is a direct Title X grantee and applied to expand their grant to include Tennessee and to partner with us to provide the services … We are experts in high-quality, nonjudgmental sexual and reproductive health care and sex education. We know just how important these services are for our patients, especially those with lower incomes.”
As the political battle over abortion has raged on, Title X has become a political football. Republican presidents, like Donald Trump, have used it to crack down on abortion. His administration barred any clinic using the funds from even mentioning the procedure. That led to many providers opting out of the program, which slashed the number of people Title X served nationally. President Biden revoked that rule in 2021, then implemented a new rule requiring providers to counsel patients on their abortion options.
Under that policy, Tennessee became the first abortion-banning state to lose its Title X funding. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers the program. The agency sent state leaders several letters, warning them that Tennessee could lose its eligibility. The federal agency was concerned that Tennessee’s official Title X policy failed to require counseling on “infant care, foster care, adoption, or pregnancy termination, which are all required to be provided upon request,” according to reporting by Axios.
State officials responded, telling HHS that the state has complied with Title X requirements for 50 years, and state clinics were providing counseling on everything except abortions, which became illegal last year.
Gov. Bill Lee and the legislature worked to use state money to backfill that $7 million earlier this year. His office told Axios, “the federal government is denying Tennessee funding that has supported critical maternal and family care for thousands of Tennesseans for decades.”
Coffield chided Tennessee officials for failing to adhere to the new Title X guidelines, noting that the state has a history of intentionally missing out on federal funding designed to help its residents. She pointed to a decision earlier this year to reject federal funding for basic HIV testing and treatment. She also mentioned House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s announcement this week that lawmakers are exploring ways to reject nearly $2 billion in education funding. He and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced Monday they had created a legislative panel to review restrictions, mandates and regulations tied to taking money from the U.S. Department of Education, according to reporting by the Tennessee Lookout.
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