Under Trump, a New Focus for a Birth Control Program: Helping Women Get Pregnant

The Trump administration has turned its focus to provide birth control to low-income women and is ramping up efforts to help aspiring mothers get pregnant. And for this, it intends to use funds from a decades-old federal program, reports NYT.

This marks a major shift in policy that will appease both religious conservatives and adherents of its Make America Healthy Again agenda. A post on government website last week mentioned that the Trump administration would offer a $1.5 million grant to start an “infertility training center.”

What would these centres do? These “infertility training centers” would promote “holistic” approaches to combating infertility, such as menstrual cycle education classes that women also take to try to prevent pregnancy without using birth control.

The announcement hints at a clear sign that the Trump administration plans to take a new approach with the federal family planning program known as Title X. The Title X Family Planning Program is a federal grant program created to provide comprehensive and confidential family planning services and preventive health services. It points toward combating infertility, a goal that President Donald Trump has made part of his agenda.

Trump admin’s stance on infertility

The announcement on the little-noticed government website last week also sheds light that the administration has signalled an early shift in their stance on infertility, leaning toward an alternative approach favored by conservative and religious groups that remain skeptical of in vitro fertilization (IVF). A formal White House report on infertility was submitted to the president in May—months after Trump issued an executive order to reduce IVF costs—but it has yet to be made public.

Traditionally, the Title X program has focused on providing contraception. However, it also covers a range of other services, including pregnancy testing, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and limited infertility care. Still, most patients who visit Title X clinics seek birth control or STI-related services, according to experts and grant administrators.

Advocates who provide contraception to low-income women said they were surprised and concerned when they noticed the announcement on the government website.

‘Huge alarm’, say experts

“This is a huge alarm,” said Angie Fellers LeMire, the co-founder of Community Centered Reproductive Health, an organization dedicated to increasing access to contraception in low-income and rural communities. “It changes the focus of the program.”

Fellers LeMire said she worried that putting a greater spotlight on infertility in Title X clinics would mean less money for birth control for women seeking to avoid pregnancy.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, pushed back strongly on that idea, emphasizing that Title X would “continue to deliver on this mission of ensuring access to a broad range of family planning and preventive health services.”

“President Trump campaigned on Making America Healthy Again and addressing fertility concerns for Americans looking to start families,” Desai said. “Infertility services are part of the acceptable and effective family planning methods included in statute, and the grant announcement shows a commitment to broadening Title X services to best meet the health needs of women and families.”