As President Trump Fires Staff of Family Planning Program, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congresswoman Dina Titus, and Congresswoman Sharice Davids[...]

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28), Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), and Congresswoman Sharice Davids (KS-03) led 99 of their Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy encouraging the Trump administration to reinstate workers at the Office of Population Affairs (OPA), who were illegally fired on October 15. OPA administers key programs like Title X, which provides essential family planning services to 2.8 million people, and which was first introduced in 1970 by then-Congressman George H.W. Bush of Texas' Seventh Congressional District. OPA also administers the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program and provides resources to expand access to embryo donation and adoption as a family building option for families with fertility obstacles.

"We write to express our grave concern at the recent actions by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to terminate nearly the entire staff at the Office of Population Affairs (OPA)," the members wrote. "The OPA oversees the nation's only federal program dedicated to family planning, the Title X program, among other vital reproductive health programs. These firings will severely undermine the functionality of the office, hindering the Title X program's ability to operate effectively, and threatening the loss of health care for many of the millions of people that these programs support annually."

"Undermining the federal government's ability to effectively administer the Title X program funds will unquestionably result in the loss of health care for patients who depend on it," the members continued. "The dismantling of the OPA threatens to rip away critical services from millions of Americans at thousands of health centers across the country. We urge you to immediately reinstate the OPA employees so they can continue to carry out their essential functions."

In March, the Trump administration froze funding for Title X family planning that Congress had previously set aside for the program. In April and June, Congresswoman Fletcher sent letters to Secretary Kennedy urging the Trump administration to restore this funding. Congresswoman Fletcher also sent a letter to House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee leaders urging them to increase funding for Title X as part of appropriations legislation.