TRENTON, NJ – Today, the New Jersey State Senate passed S4103, a bill which will provide for $9.5 million in emergency state funding to providers like Planned Parenthood who were forced out of federal Title X family planning program due to the medically unethical gag rule. The Assembly passed the companion bill, A5802, in late November.

“New Jersey has a history of supporting reproductive health, and today’s vote shows we won’t back down,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. “We look forward to Governor Murphy signing this bill into law and protecting patients’ access to care.”

Planned Parenthood was forced out of participating in Title X, the nation’s only federal program for affordable birth control and family planning services, due to the Trump-Pence administration’s medically unethical gag rule, which prevents health care providers from giving their patients full information about their reproductive health options. The medically unethical gag rule is specifically intended to deny people care at Planned Parenthood health centers. In New Jersey, Planned Parenthood provides care to 70 percent of Title X patients in the state.

S4103/A5802 will provide $9.5 million in emergency state funding for providers such as Planned Parenthood who were forced out of the Title X program so they can continue to provide lifesaving reproductive health services to New Jerseyans. Planned Parenthood currently is operating on emergency funds, but the organization cannot continue to do so indefinitely. Without this state support, providers like Planned Parenthood cannot continue to offer the same level of services.

“New Jersey’s elected officials and policymakers from across the state — including the governor, lieutenant governor, former commissioner of the Department of Health, members of Congress, and state legislators — have all publicly opposed the gag rule,” said Wojtowicz. “We look forward to Governor Murphy signing this bill as soon as possible and continuing his commitment to keep affordable, high-quality reproductive health care services available to patients in New Jersey.