Indiana Planned Parenthood has Title X funding withheld by Trump administration

INDIANAPOLIS — Planned Parenthood says President Trump’s recent decision to withhold millions in funding from Indiana health centers could negatively affect thousands of Hoosiers.

The organization said officials received notices on Monday night about the Trump administration’s plans to withhold tens of millions of dollars in funding from nine different Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide – including the one representing Indiana.

“This will harm thousands of patients in Indiana who rely on Planned Parenthood for essential sexual and reproductive health care,” officials wrote.

Planned Parenthood in Indiana

Trump’s decision could potentially make it harder for Hoosiers to access birth control, cancer screenings, and reproductive health care, the organization said in a press release. Early analysis reportedly shows that over 3,000 low-income Indiana residents could be affected.

According to numbers collected by Planned Parenthood, over 3,400 patients visited Indiana’s 11 health centers throughout 2024. Of these patients:

• 52% were at or below the Federal Poverty Line,
• 33% used Medicaid to access care, and
• 41% identified as BIPOC.

Given what Planned Parenthood calls an “ongoing health care crisis” in Indiana, the organization recently opened a new virtual health center in the Hoosier State. On the platform, patients across the state can now discuss sexual health issues with experts online.

However, Planned Parenthood says these services are now in danger because of the Title X funding cuts that took effect on Tuesday.

Title X funding

Title X was established in the 1970s under President Richard Nixon as the country’s only federal program dedicated to giving low-income Americans affordable birth control. The federal grant program also assists people with sexual health issues such as:

• Breast and cervical cancer screenings,
• STI testing,
• Pregnancy diagnosis and counseling, and
• Menopause support.

According to the health advocacy nonprofit KFF, Title X supported almost 4,000 clinics serving close to 2.8 million people in 2023. That same year, Planned Parenthood reported providing over 5 million STI services, 2 million birth control services and 400,000 cancer screenings.

Planned Parenthood officials say these services are especially vital in rural and underserved areas, where their organization and other Title X providers may be the only affordable option.

Rebecca Gibron, CEO of the Planned Parenthood affiliate that covers Indiana, said cutting funding for Title X is a violation of Hoosiers’ freedom.

“These patients rely on Title X for their birth control and health care, and without this program, they may have no access at all,” Gibron said. “By withholding Title X funds, Trump and Musk’s federal government is denying health care and restricting patients’ freedom to control their bodies, their lives, and their futures.”

Funding cuts, pushback

Research published in January by Perry Undem shows 77% of Americans surveyed oppose the Trump administration taking away funds from health centers used for birth control for people with low incomes. Trump voters identified as 63% of those in opposition.

Despite this, Planned Parenthood officials say Trump and his administration want to punish their patients and their organization.

“Every single day, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are burning down critical components of our country and its health care system. Their agenda is the same as the anti-abortion groups that support them: punish patients, punish Planned Parenthood, and dictate which patients can get health care and what care they can get. This administration is set on dismantling access to reproductive health care and now they are using our commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment to our patients and staff as an excuse to attack Planned Parenthood and the care we provide to the patients who need it most.”

– Rebecca Gibron, CEO of PPGNHAIK

Neither the White House nor the Department of Health and Human Services have responded to requests for comment from The Hill — a FOX59/CBS4 news affiliate.

Planned Parenthood SCOTUS case

The announcement from Trump’s administration lines up with another potential attack on the way Planned Parenthood operates.

These latest funding cuts come as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case Wednesday that could determine whether or not states can block Medicaid patients from using Planned Parenthood centers for healthcare. For more information on this upcoming case, click here.

Federal law already prohibits Medicaid money from going to pay for abortions, with very limited exceptions. Indiana became one of the first states to implement stricter bans after the controversial ruling removed federal abortion protections.

Abortions in Indiana

The total number of abortions in Indiana declined dramatically after a near-total abortion ban was enacted following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. FOX59/CBS4 has been covering the state’s new abortion laws since that summer, tracking how it has affected Hoosiers.

In June 2024, nearly two years after the new laws were passed, a poll conducted by a non-partisan political action committee showed a majority of Hoosiers found the laws to be too restrictive. For more on that, click here.

Several groups attempted to challenge the abortion bans in court. However, most of these challenges were struck down — including a Dec. 2024 ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court that it was not time for them to hear a case surrounding a religious exemption to the ban.

Back in February, we spoke with one mother who said Indiana’s abortion laws are “unbearable” and forced her to make impossible decisions while pregnant.

This article includes additional reporting from The Hill and the Associated Press and will be updated once more information is confirmed.