Calling for Action to Stop the Budget Cuts to Title X Programs Addressing Women's Health In the United States

WHEREAS, the Title X Family Planning program was enacted in 1970 as Title X of the Public Health Service Act and is the only Federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services; and

WHEREAS, Title X-supported clinics provide a number of related preventive health service such as: patient education and counseling; breast and pelvic examinations; breast and cervical cancer screening according to nationally recognized standards of care; sexually transmitted disease (STD) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention education, counseling, testing and referral; and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling; and

WHEREAS, women of low income and women of color are the most affected by cervical and breast cancer in the United States; and

WHEREAS, according to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 27,000 African American women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. And while they are less likely than white women to be diagnosed with breast cancer they are more likely to die from it than any other race-and more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage; and

WHEREAS, according to the American Cancer Society, Latino women are more likely to be diagnosed with large tumors and late stage breast cancer than white women; and

WHEREAS, the risk of Asian women, who migrate to the U.S., to develop cancer increases up-to-six fold according to the National Cancer Institute; and

WHEREAS, women of color are more likely to not have adequate health care coverage than white women; and

WHEREAS, in many communities across the country, organizations like Planned Parenthood and other health service agencies are a source of preventive health care for women; and

WHEREAS, Planned Parenthood had been serving with the Title X funds, almost 3 million women, men and young people annually.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP take its rightful place in history, and call all of its units to mobilize and advocate for the protection and restoration of Title X funding to Women Health Programs in the United States of America; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP will continue to advocate for equal access to health care in the United States.