“Cutting funding for family planning means sacrificing health and rights.”

Closures of departmental branches of the Family Planning Association, reductions in subsidies, withdrawals of accreditations… The situation facing the Family Planning Association is untenable. It is facing unprecedented budget cuts: the Drôme departmental council has decided to close seven sexual health centers (out of twelve) in the department and to reduce the subsidies granted to the association by 20%. The Loiret department has reduced its contribution to the Family Planning Association by 10%, representing a loss of €47,000, which could lead to the elimination of two positions. The president of the Pays de la Loire region has withdrawn all allocated aid.

Closing a Planned Parenthood Centre or cutting its funding means stopping the work we do for the people who need it most. It's our children, our parents, our friends, our brothers and sisters who find themselves facing closed doors, even though they come looking for someone to listen, support, and information.

The role of Family Planning, as a player in prevention, listening, information, and guidance, is more than necessary. It has been in the field for seventy years and offers unconditional, anonymous, and free support. More than 2,000 activists, employees, and volunteers, and 82 departmental associations fight every day for the emancipation of all. Each year, nearly 500,000 people are affected by Family Planning's actions. The consequences of these cuts are direct and concrete: sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are exploding, and the need for support is increasing in the face of the liberation of speech on discrimination and violence. We are cutting the means to act, but the needs are increasing. Without Family Planning, it is health that is sacrificed. Without Family Planning, it is the power to act and the autonomy of people to choose that is abandoned.

This is not a simple budgetary issue, nor an isolated event restricted to a few territories: these are political attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The announced economic austerity is accompanied by political choices that are always detrimental to associations and public services, and therefore primarily affect women, LGBTQIA+ people, migrants, young people, and the most vulnerable.

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