The reversal of a Trump-era policy allows taxpayer money to fund abortion referrals at family planning clinics.
In 2019, former President Trump instituted the Protect Life Rule, which disqualifies family planning clinics that “provide or promote” abortions from receiving funds under Title X.
The federal funding is administered from the Office of Population Affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide public family planning. When the rule came into effect, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers decided to leave the program voluntarily, relinquishing over $33 million in funds.
In 2021, the Biden administration called for the reversal of this rule immediately upon entering office. His administration has continued to prioritize abortion, rebranded as healthcare in programs like the HHS' new Task Force on Reproductive Health to promote abortion access.
According to The Hill,
The court denied the request and ruled the states ‘have not demonstrated that they will be irreparably harmed without the injunction.' The states' next step could be an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led the lawsuit along with a dozen other attorneys and numerous states. In a statement, Yost said, “You can't ‘follow the money' when all the money is dumped into one pot and mixed together. Federal law prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion — and that law means nothing if the federal money isn't kept separate. That, frankly, is the real reason behind the rule.”
Live Action reported,
In past years, Planned Parenthood has received an estimated $60 million from Title X taxpayer dollars alone annually, and as previously reported, is still likely to receive an estimated $500 million (half a billion) from other state and federal taxpayer programs each year. The abortion giant now garners nearly forty percent of the market share of abortions nationally.
