The Trump administration’s recent targeted cuts to the Title X family planning program, if upheld by the courts, along with across-the-board funding reductions, will dramatically weaken the family planning safety net nationally and in Wisconsin.
Title X is a federal program that provides critical family planning services and other preventive care to people living with low incomes and those who are un- or under-insured. (See a CORE overview here.) The program is vital for the reproductive health and autonomy of people living in both urban and rural areas nationwide, including Wisconsin.
Why it matters: Research on losses to the Title X program during the first Trump administration indicates that these new cuts will cause people to lose access to contraception services and will threaten their reproductive autonomy. In Wisconsin, the loss of funds will worsen existing gaps in contraceptive care that already challenge rural areas of the state. People who already struggle to access care due to systemic inequities will face even greater barriers.
What’s the evidence: Title X-supported family planning services help people achieve reproductive wellbeing, autonomy, and personal life goals related to education, employment, and family building. Publicly supported sexual and reproductive health care also results in system-wide cost savings. Research has estimated that for every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning services like Title X to prevent or delay pregnancy and to protect from reproductive illnesses, there is a savings of $4.83.
Local impacts: The latest cuts to Title X by the new Trump administration come on the heels of other disruptions to the program in Wisconsin in recent years. Vast changes to the program by the first Trump administration, chronic underfunding, and a state law that prohibits Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X funds (see CORE brief) led to a drastic reduction in the program’s reach, with 84% fewer patients served in Wisconsin between 2018 and 2023.
What’s more, studies show that as a result of these policy changes, Wisconsin patients and clinics faced financial strain; clinics struggled to provide high-quality, person-centered care; and youth, Latinx, and undocumented populations were most impacted.
The bottom line: These shifts in policy treat reproductive health services more as a political issue than essential healthcare. The latest actions will cause even more harm to Wisconsinites and people nationwide who need access to family planning care.
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