Ask Your Members of Congress to Support Prevention First

As the nation’s leading advocate and provider of reproductive health services, Planned Parenthood knows that real sex education and access to birth control are the best tools for preventing unintended pregnancy and reducing the need for abortion.

Planned Parenthood of Delaware is asking you to call on your members of congress to support the Prevention First Act (HR 819/S 21), introduced in Congress by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY). This bill will expand access to the birth control and medically accurate sex education that women and couples need to plan their families by ensuring that Title X, America's family planning program, is fully funded. It will also ensure that low-income women have access to reproductive health care through Medicaid, and that our teens are protected with real sex education.

Prevention is the key to reducing unintended pregnancy and building strong, healthy families. Join us today by contacting Senators Biden and Carper and Representative Castle to encourage them to co-sponsor the Prevention First Act and support renewed funding for birth control and real sex education. Let your representatives know that Delaware supports a commonsense approach to preventing unintended pregnancy!

More information at: http://www.ppdel.org/prevention1.html

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Support Prevention First!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to become a co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Senate and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) in the House. This legislation will ensure that Title X, America's family planning program, is fully funded. It will also ensure that low-income women have access to reproductive health care through Medicaid, and that our teens are protected with REAL sex education.

More than 17 million low-income women in the U.S. need publicly funded family planning services, and there is not enough funding to meet the need. This year American teens will acquire more than four million STIs, and 750,000 will get pregnant. The Prevention First Act provides a commonsense solution to these problems that people on all sides of the abortion debate should support.

Please co-sponsor this important legislation.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
February 13, 2007

Background Information

In the weeks ahead, Congress will make critical decisions about family planning and birth control. It's time to fully fund family planning services, increase access to these services through Medicaid, and protect teens with real sex education. The Prevention First Act (HR 819/S 21), introduced in Congress by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY) provides a viable solution that people on all sides of the abortion debate should support.

The Prevention First Act will:

Increase access to family planning services by increasing funds to Title X clinics that help women prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the number of abortions, lower rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and detect breast and cervical cancer at its earliest stages.
Eliminate cost barriers for poor and low-income women who cannot afford to purchase contraceptive services. Public health programs like Medicaid and Title X provide high-quality family planning services and other preventive health care to underinsured or uninsured individuals who may otherwise lack access to health care. Yet these programs are struggling to meet the growing demand for subsidized family planning services without corresponding increases in funding.
Protect teens against infection and unintended pregnancy. The bill would provide $20 million in annual funding for competitive grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teen pregnancy prevention programs.

Contact your representatives today and ask them to co-sponsor the Prevention First Act!