In the News

Every Body Texas in the News

May 12, 2022, Politico

How One Clinic in Texas Explains the Threat to Contraception

“We’ve already got limits here,” says Mimi Garcia, director of communications for Every Body Texas, which runs the state’s Title X federal family planning program for low-income people, which includes the clinic here in San Marcos. “There are a lot of policy solutions that we have been trying to pass in [legislative] session after session after session that would improve access to contraception.” But Texas has moved in the other direction.

May 5, 2022, The Texas Newsroom

Demand for emergency contraception surges after a leaked draft of Supreme Court opinion on abortion

When Every Body Texas received a federal grant in January to help facilitate the delivery of emergency contraception kits across the state, the organization soon assembled and distributed packages containing two doses of emergency contraception, two pregnancy tests, condoms, lube packets, and information booklets.

The group, which also supports clinics with Title X funds, averaged fewer than two dozen daily requests for the kits.

But since Monday, when a leaked draft opinion by the United States Supreme Court on the constitutionality of abortion was made public, the number of requests skyrocketed to more than 700 in less than 48 hours.

May 3, 2022, Kaiser Health News

Abortion politics lead to power struggles over family planning grants

Conservative states have been tangling with nonprofits and the federal government over Title X funding for more than a decade. In 2011, during the Obama administration, Texas whittled the state’s family planning spending and prioritized sending the federal money to general primary care providers over reproductive health clinics. As a result, 25% of family planning clinics in Texas closed. In 2013, a nonprofit now called Every Body Texas joined the competition to distribute the state’s Title X dollars and won.

“Filling and rebuilding those holes have taken this last decade, essentially,” said Berna Mason, director of service delivery improvement for Every Body Texas.

April 29, 2022, Mississippi Today

A nonprofit beat the health department to win a key grand for family planning. Can it transform a broken system?

In other states, nonprofits are already running Title X programs. Every Body Texas has overseen the state’s now-$15.4 million grant since 2013.

April 28, 2022, Kaiser Health News

Emergency Contraception Marks a New Battle Line in Texas

Every Body Texas, an Austin-based group that awards federal birth control funding, received more than 200 requests for emergency contraception the first week its website began taking orders.

November 5, 2021, Time Magazine

Texas Providers See Increased Interest in Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban

Specialized family planning clinics that receive Title X dollars do have proactive conversations about contraceptive methods, according to Every Body Texas, the Title X grantee for the state.

October 25, 2021, The Daily Texan

UT students say access to emergency contraception is important in the wake of anti-abortion law

Matthew Thompson, interim director of Every Body Texas’ Title X program, said students do not need health insurance to use Every Body Texas’ services, and if students are under their parents’ plan, they can choose not to use it for privacy purposes.

“Access to contraception and emergency contraception is critically important because it is those preventative medicine methods — with abortion access now being so limited in the state — that prevent unintended pregnancies,” Thompson said.

October 5, 2021, The 19th 

The 19th Explains: What is Title X and what did Trump and Biden do to change it?

“We are working to give the best advice possible to our providers and are working with attorneys to understand the impact the new rule will have on our network,” Garcia said. “At Every Body Texas, our values are focused on equality, health equity, and gender neutral and gender-inclusive care — so we are excited to see these values reflected on a national stage and now we are thinking about how we can best implement them on the ground.”

September 28, 2021, The 19th

Texas slashed reproductive health care for years. Here's what $10 million from the federal government can do. 

Matt Thompson, the interim Title X director of Every Body Texas, told The 19th that as soon as SB 8 went into effect in Texas on September 1, the group was in communication with HHS to figure out how the federal agency could best help support Texans.

“The thought process we’re working through is if we increase access [to family planning] in response to SB 8 and focus on emergency contraception, we can help prevent unintended pregnancy before people reach the point of needing an abortion, since that’s now so limited in the state,” Thompson said.

Thompson also said that Every Body Texas is focused on utilizing this increased funding to expand the Title X network in the state, which he said has “big gaps where these services are needed.”

September 17, 2021, Texas Tribune

Federal government announces funding for emergency contraception for Texans impacted by near-total abortion ban

There is $10 million available for these two programs, though it is unclear how much Every Body Texas is receiving directly. According to the federal government’s website, the new program, called Funding to Address Dire Need for Family Planning Services, expects to award 10 grants between $150,000 and $1.5 million by the end of this year. The announcement said Every Body Texas must use the money provided by March 31.

September 17, 2021, The Hill

Biden administration announces federal support for patients, abortion providers in Texas

Among the initiatives announced by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra is additional funding for Every Body Texas, a nonprofit that distributes money to sexual and reproductive health care clinics throughout Texas.

January 19, 2021, Texas Tribune

Low-income Texans struggle to find new doctors as state officials boot Planned Parenthood off Medicaid

Federally funded Title X clinics, that provide reproductive health care to low-income people, have been “underfunded for years and, without additional resources, are not in a position to suddenly absorb thousands of clients,” said Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas. The organization supports Title X clinics in Texas and distributes the federal funding to them.

December 3, 2020, Texas Observer

After Sarah Davis’ election defeat, Texas reproductive health advocates worry about losing a powerful Republican ally

“We are very well aware of the economic challenges that we are going to face in developing a budget based on our revenue projections, but we also are really, really mindful that the rates of unemployed and uninsured Texans are rising,” says Kami Geoffray, head of Every Body Texas, which administers the Title X grant statewide. “So a key issue heading into session is ensuring that there is adequate funding for safety net health care services. And by adequate, we mean more, not less.”

September 15, 2020, Dallas Morning News

Texas proposes fewer budget cuts to women's programs but would freeze hiring eligibility workers

Kami Geoffray, chief executive of the women’s health group Every Body Texas, said she was relieved to learn Tuesday that the commission has walked back a proposed $3.7 million cut to providers of family planning services and care given to low-income women by the Healthy Texas Women program.

September 15, 2020, Texas Tribune

Texas Officials walk back $15 million proposed cuts to women's and children's health services 

Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas, said she was "heartened" by the revised plan but called for more transparency.

"Confusion over funding availability threatens the stability of the family planning safety... we urge HHSC to engage stakeholders early and often to ensure that the real-world impacts of policy and funding decisions are incorporated into agency analysis," said Geoffray, whose organization supports women’s health providers that contract with the state.

August 29, 2020,  Texas Tribune

Texas officials want to cut funding for women's health services while preserving an anti-abortion program

Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas, said the programs identified for cuts “have been shown to improve health outcomes — including maternal health outcomes, which have been a challenge in our state.”

“It’s just really concerning that this is the area that is first to be targeted when the state is looking for cost savings because the reality is it’s going to be short-term cost savings,” said Geoffray, whose organization supports women’s health providers that contract with the state. “We’re going to have more costs down the road with increased STIs, increased cancer diagnoses that went too long because people weren’t able to get screened. We’re going to have unplanned pregnancies as a result of not being able to access the contraceptive care people want and need.”