Local Planned Parenthood to Receive $4 Million in Title X Workaround

In April, the Tennessee Department of Health was disqualified from the Title X federal program for refusing to offer information on abortions. The state lost out on $7.5 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

On Tuesday, the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood announced it has expanded its Title X grant to include nearly $4 million in funds routed to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi as a subgrantee, and another nearly $4 million to Mississippi nonprofit Converge. The funding will go toward preventive services, including low-cost birth control, STI treatment and breast and cervical cancer screenings over the next four years.

In addition, Gov. Bill Lee added $7.5 million in recurring annual state funding into the budget starting in July to replace the lost federal funds.

Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said in a Tuesday conference call that she fears the state money will not be used for contraception. 

On Wednesday Gov. Bill Lee tweeted: "The federal government withheld critical funding from TN families, so they could funnel taxpayer dollars to a radical political organization. Some things should simply rise above politics—especially resources that TN mothers, children & families have counted on for decades."

“I wouldn’t say we have twice the Title X funding now because the state dollars are controlled by this administration, which is antagonistic toward sexual reproductive health,” Coffield said. “I hope the state continues to fund access to birth control. I have no faith in that.”

This is the first time Tennessee’s Planned Parenthood arm has received Title X funding since 2011. The organization was a subgrantee of the Tennessee Department of Health before being removed from the program in 2011.

“Victory is rare in Tennessee, but today we’re celebrating the return of nonjudgmental access to Title X programs in the Volunteer State,” Coffield says in a press release. “Our governor jeopardized access to birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screenings when he refused to comply with Title X requirements for unbiased patient information. Direct grantees in Virginia and Mississippi will use these funds to ensure there are services in Tennessee, and we look forward to working with Virginia League for Planned Parenthood as a subgrantee. We are thrilled to be part of an innovative solution to our state’s extreme assault on sexual and reproductive health care.”

Since Tennessee’s nearly total ban on abortion went into effect one year ago, Planned Parenthood suspended offering abortions and instead pivoted to helping people in need of care travel to neighboring states in addition to its reproductive and sexual health care services.

The Tennessee Department of Health opted not to accept $9 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds for HIV prevention earlier this year, stating, “It is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the State to assume direct financial and managerial response for these services.” Similarly, the state included $9 million for HIV prevention in its budget, and the CDC went around the state to deliver $4 million to local organizations directly.

This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.