Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program

Angela Napili
Information Research Specialist

The federal government provides grants for voluntary family planning services through the Family Planning Program, Title X of the Public Health Service Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. Section 300 to Section 300a-6. The program, enacted in 1970, is the only domestic federal program devoted solely to family planning and related preventive health services. Title X is administered through the Office of Population Affairs (OPA) under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Although the authorization of appropriations for Title X ended with FY1985, funding for the program has continued to be provided through appropriations bills for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Education). Within DHHS, Title X receives its funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) account.

The President’s FY2013 Budget requests $296.838 million for Title X, 1% more than the FY2012 funding level. The Senate-reported FY2013 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, S. 3295, would provide $293.870 million. FY2012 funding for Title X is $293.870 million, 2% less than the FY2011 funding level of $299.400 million. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74) continues previous years’ requirements that Title X funds not be spent on abortions, that all pregnancy counseling be nondirective, and that funds not be spent on promoting or opposing any legislative proposal or candidate for public office. Grantees continue to be required to certify that they encourage “family participation” when minors seek family planning services, and certify that they counsel minors on how to resist attempted coercion into sexual activity. The law also clarifies that family planning providers are not exempt from state notification and reporting laws on child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.

The law (42 U.S.C. §300a-6) prohibits the use of Title X funds in programs where abortion is a method of family planning. According to OPA, family planning projects that receive Title X funds are closely monitored to ensure that federal funds are used appropriately and that funds are not used for prohibited activities such as abortion. The prohibition on abortion does not apply to all the activities of a Title X grantee, but only to activities that are part of the Title X project. A grantee’s abortion activities must be “separate and distinct” from the Title X project activities.

Several bills addressing Title X have been introduced in the 112th Congress. H.R. 217 and S. 96 would prohibit Title X grants to abortion-performing entities. H.R. 408 and S. 178 would eliminate the Title X program. H.R. 1099 would prohibit federal spending on any family planning activity. H.R. 1135, H.R. 1167, and S. 1904 would require an overall spending limit on meanstested welfare programs, defined to include family planning. S. 814 would require online disclosure of audits conducted under Title X on any entity receiving Title X funds. H.R. 5650 would prohibit Title X grantees and contractors from discriminating against a health care entity on the basis of whether it separately provides or refers for abortions, provides employees coverage of abortions, or provides or requires training in performing abortions. H.R. 1 would have eliminated funding for Title X for FY2011. H.R. 1 and H.Con.Res. 36 would have restricted federal funding to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and its affiliates for FY2011. The House-introduced FY2012 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill, H.R. 3070, would have prohibited the bill’s funds from being used for Title X. H.R. 3070 would have also restricted the bill’s funding to PPFA and its affiliates unless they certify that the organization will not perform abortions.


Date of Report: June 18, 2012
Number of Pages: 27
Order Number: RL33644
Price: $29.95

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