“As a women living with HIV for over 27 years and working on issues across women’s health, I feel strongly that this proposed rule is a threat to HIV testing, care, and prevention in lower-income communities, especially communities of color where such services are desperately needed,” said Linda Scruggs, Director of NMAC’s Leadership Pipeline. “Centers like Planned Parenthood are often a point of entry for people seeking HIV and STD testing and treatment. They provide vital HIV prevention services, like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for people at risk for HIV, and linkage to care so that people living with HIV can live longer and reduce the chance of transmitting the virus to others.”
“The loss of funding for these centers will cause many of them to close, depriving already-underserved communities of options for the quality health care they have every right to,” said Scruggs. “We cannot stand by and allow communities that already have very few options for quality health care risk losing what little they already have. Through this rule, this Administration is putting the lives and well-being of countless Americans at risk.”
