Planned Parenthood of Southern New England has blasted a Trump administration rule which denies funding to healthcare providers who refer patients for abortions.
The funding comes from the federal Title X program, which provides family planning services such as contraceptives, testing for sexually transmitted infections and breast cancer screenings to low income residents.
Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, which has withdrawn from the program rather than comply with the gag rule, will lose over $2.1 million in Title X funding this year.
The organization's President and CEO Amanda Skinner told a news conference in Hartford, the gag rule sets a dangerous precedent.
"Politicians do not belong in the exam room," she said. "It is unethical and immoral to require health providers to withhold information from their patients."
Amina Carter is a physician assistant for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. She said Trump's gag rule amounts to an attack on "the most vulnerable citizens in our communities."
"This harmful gag rule will only increase the disparity between people who can access healthcare and those who cannot," she said. "As a healthcare provider, I will not be gagged."
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has joined 20 other state attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Title X gag rule.
