As End of Year Nears Congress Must Prioritize Reproductive Well-Being

As the end of the year draws closer, a lot of us are feeling the mounting pressure of to-do lists piling up: which gifts to get, potentially unrealistic resolutions for the new year, and so much more. Congress has a few of those lists, too. However, when we procrastinate things on our list, we don’t have the potential to detrimentally impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Many of us are hoping to see our representatives prioritize passing a final appropriations package that fully supports reproductive well-being. Two months ago, Congress passed a short-term deal to fund the government, also known as a continuing resolution (CR), before taking a recess ahead of the elections. Now that they’re back, members have until December 20 to either finalize appropriation for fiscal year FY25, which runs from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, or pass another CR.

If Congress just passes another CR, crucial programs and policies that support reproductive well-being such as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) and Title X Family Planning Program (Title X) remain funded at current levels without meeting the true need for these programs.

What does Congress need to do?

While members of Congress work toward funding the government in the long-term, it is imperative that they commit to supporting reproductive well-being. The simplest and most effective way for them to do this is through increasing necessary funding to priority programs and eliminating harmful policies that normalize misinformation or further limit access to quality healthcare for so many communities.

Specifically, Congress must:

• Provide $512 million for the Title X Family Planning Program.
• Provide $150 million for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.
• Reauthorize the Personal Responsibility Education Program.
• Eliminate funding for the harmful Sexual Risk Avoidance Program.
• Remove anti-abortion policy riders such as the Hyde and Weldon Amendments.

What can you do?

Contact your members of Congress and tell them to increase funding for critical programs like TPP and Title X and reject efforts to undermine reproductive well-being.

You can also encourage people in your community to get educated on how important it is for our elected officials to prioritize our sexual and reproductive health and autonomy – all of our voices deserve to be heard!