President Donald Trump waves while boarding Air Force One for a trip to Vietnam to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Monday, Feb. 25, 2019, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
University of Connecticut students largely oppose the Title X “gag rule” proposed by President Donald Trump and his administration, saying it is a violation of personal human rights.
On Friday, Feb. 22, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs posted the updated addendum to what is currently known as Title X of the Public Health Service Act, according to NPR.
The new rule, known as the “gag rule,” states that “any organization that provides or refers patients for abortions is ineligible for Title X funding to cover STD prevention, cancer screenings and contraception. Federal funding for abortion already is illegal in most cases,” according to NPR.
Second-semester pre-teaching major Grayson Muskus said that the omission of options to patients is a violation of their personal rights.
“I think doctors have the responsibility of letting their patients know about the options that they have,” Muskus said. “If [an abortion is] what they genuinely want, that’s what they should get.”
In a recent interview with NPR, Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood, said it is a violation of medical ethics to withhold patient information, as the gag rule imposes.
“As a doctor, this compromises the oath that I took to serve my patients and help them with making the best decision for their own health,” Wen said. “It’s unconscionable and unethical for politicians to restrict doctors like me from speaking honestly to our patients.”
Second-semester chemistry major Janet Wang said that the removal of rights within Title X takes an option off the table that patients had no say in removing.
“It suggests to these women that their voices are not valued in their own personal health matters,” Wang said. “They can’t have access to the best treatment for themselves, their baby and other people in their life.”
Trump first proposed the nationwide gag rule to Title X in the spring of 2018 with the intention of disintegrating laws established in 1970 under President Richard Nixon, which at the time gained large bipartisan support.
“It’s basic life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” second-semester finance major Chris Connolly said. “You should be entitled to make an informed decision. [Doctors] don’t have to suggest abortion, but they should be able to provide information about every route.”
Grace Burns is campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at grace.burns@uconn.edu.