Congressional lawmakers in Washington may have backed off their drive to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but they are certain to consider other harmful policy changes and funding cuts that could limit women’s access to reproductive health care and the ability of trusted and qualified providers to meet the needs of our Massachusetts communities.

For nearly 50 years, the Title X family planning program has played an essential role in our nation’s public health safety net. As the only dedicated source of federal funding that ensures access to high-quality reproductive health care to four million people nationwide — and 67,293 people in Massachusetts every year — Title X remains critical to the shared national health goal to reduce unintended pregnancy.

Family planning services at the state’s Title X-funded health centers, like Tapestry here in western Massachusetts, helped prevent 13,600 unintended pregnancies in 2014, which would likely have resulted in 6,600 unintended births and 4,900 abortions. Without publicly funded family planning, the number of unintended pregnancies in Massachusetts would be 25 percent higher.

At a time when a demand for publicly funded family planning is growing, the specter of further cuts to or even elimination of Title X funds poses a serious threat to the provider network that ensures essential health care for millions of people across the country. Congressional cuts to this critical program could prevent the nearly 7,000 western Massachusetts residents Tapestry serves annually in Hampshire, Hampden, Berkshire and Franklin counties from receiving care.

For roughly half of our clients, living in a region with a documented practitioner shortage, losing Title X funded services would mean losing the only medical treatment that they currently receive.

As the CEO of a local family planning provider, I know how vital Title X funding is to the public health infrastructure in our commonwealth. When people have access to the reproductive health care and education they need to stay healthy and support their families, communities are stronger and safer.

It is clear that some lawmakers are confusing family planning with abortion, which by law cannot be supported by Title X. Any policy measure that restricts public funding for family planning will weaken a health system on which millions rely and lead to a dramatic decline in women seeking care, fewer cancer screenings, less treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, and diminished access to a full range of contraception.

The number of low-income women who need publicly funded family planning services rose 5 percent between 2010 and 2014, an increase of 1.1 million people. We are fortunate here in western Massachusetts that the legislators who represent us recognize this troubling reality and support policies that keep Title X and the public’s health strong.

Let them know that you oppose all efforts to weaken the family planning safety net. Protect our providers and protect the critical investments that allow us to serve Massachusetts day in and day out.

Cheryl Zoll is CEO of Tapestry in Florence, which for more than 40 years has provided community-based family planning services. It has six sexual and reproductive health clinics in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.

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