HIV Prevention and Title X

More than 56,000 new cases of HIV are diagnosed every year; the number of new HIV infections in Minnesota rose 25 percent in 2009. This increase brings the number of new HIV cases back to levels seen in the 90's.

According to the Minnesota AIDS project, this dramatic increase in HIV infections can be linked to the decline of comprehensive sex ed in public schools, a general sense that the risk of contracting HIV is low and the perception that HIV is a manageable disease. These and other social factors have contributed to men ages 15 to 24 seeing the largest increase in HIV cases in Minnesota.

Prevention is the key to saving lives and money. Prevention begins with comprehensive sex education. Young people need to know behaviors that put a person at risk for HIV/STIs and the methods to best prevent exposure. Through Title X funding, Planned Parenthood provided counseling, education and conducted 10,000 HIV tests in Minnesota last year. Unfortunately, Title X funding and other preventative care funding is at risk of being eliminated by the GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. While the U.S. Senate rejected the budget bill removing funding from Planned Parenthood, we still do not have a finalized budget.

Removing funding from preventative health programs is negligent and short-sighted. Public health programs have helped prevent 340,000 babies from being born with HIV. Cutting funding for these programs would have a devastating effect for a generation of children being born with HIV especially when mother to child transmission is easily preventable. Cost to treat one HIV infection is over $25,000 per year, but programs to help cover the costs of these treatments may also be cut pushing the burden onto states. Public Health programs need to be above petty partisan politics, preventing disease and promoting health benefits all.

The importance of Title X

Planned Parenthood has served Minnesotans for over 80 years, helping men and women access comprehensive, medically accurate information and basic health care. 64,000 men and women in Minnesota utilize Planned Parenthood's services every year; 54% of those patients are at or below the federal poverty level and 83% of patients are eligible for health care services at little or no cost. Health care services provided by Planned Parenthood are especially critical in rural communities, where people are more likely to live in poverty and have extreme barriers to accessing health care. Only 3% of Planned Parenthood patients can afford the full cost of their care and, for many, Planned Parenthood functions as their primary care provider.


Recently, the House of Representatives voted to strip Planned Parenthood of all federal funding by zeroing out the title X budget. This move was based solely on politics and ignored 40 years of effective public policy. Every dollar spent on family planning services saves taxpayers four dollars in Medicaid spending, this is an excellent return on investment that is matched by few other federal programs. Title X funding, contrary to the speeches give by many on the house floor, does not fund abortion services.  Title X funds cancer screenings, STI/HIV testing, medically accurate sex education and contraception. The majority of title X patients are low-income women who are uninsured but ineligible for medicaid, making title X one of their few options to access health care services.

Title X grants provide Planned Parenthood of Minnesota with approximately 20% of their funding and eliminating this funding will disproportionately hurt rural Minnesota communities. Rural clinics serve fewer patients and those patients have an even greater need for federal aid. The map to the left depicts the percentage of births per county to mothers under 18.  Teen pregnancy already accounts for a large percentage of births in rural communities. Low maternal age negatively impacts infant health. Infants born to mothers under the age of 20 have a mortality rate 1.5 times higher than infants born to older mothers.

All women should have the knowledge and resources to prevent unintended pregnancies. Contraception services at Title X centers (like Planned Parenthood) prevented 973,000 unintended pregnancies. Without Title X this would have resulted in 406,000 more abortions. Removing funding for Planned Parenthood, one of the few sources for medically accurate sex education and contraception, will result in more unintended pregnancies and will disproportionately impact women in rural communities.


Cross posted from Planned Parenthood Advocate