Trump administration abortion rules can take effect, 9th Circuit Court says
The Trump administration's rules restricting federal funding for clinics providing abortion referrals can take effect immediately, a federal appeals court said Thursday, sparking outcry among health organizations that opposed them.
Along with more than 20 states, organizations including Planned Parenthood filed cases in three states to challenge the rules issued in February. Judges overseeing the cases blocked the rules from taking effect and two courts issued nationwide injunctions.
In reversing those decisions, a three-judge panel in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco called the rules reasonable. The court, which has drawn Trump's ire in the past for blocking immigration orders, said the rules match a federal law prohibiting taxpayer funds from going to “programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”
Referral bans: Trump administration approves rule to restrict abortion clinic funding
The panel granted the Justice Department a stay of the lower-court injunctions, allowing the policies that critics call a "gag rule" to take effect.
The rules also prohibit clinics that receive federal funds from sharing office space with abortion providers, as well as block funding for organizations that refer women to another provider for the procedure.
Dr. Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, denounced the decision and vowed to fight it.
“The news out of the 9th Circuit this morning is devastating for the millions of people who rely on Title X health centers for cancer screenings, HIV tests, affordable birth control and other critical primary and preventive care,” Wen said in a statement. “Planned Parenthood will not let the government censor our doctors and nurses from informing patients where and how they can access health care.”
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Title X is a 1970 law designed to improve access to family-planning services. Abortion opponents and religious conservatives say Title X has long been used to indirectly subsidize abortion providers, despite federal laws prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life.
“This decision is a major step toward the Trump Administration being able to ensure that all Title X projects comply with the Title X statute and do not support abortion as a method of family planning,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a news release.
The Trump administration rules revive policies President Ronald Reagan signed in 1988. The rules were later overturned by President Bill Clinton in favor of a requirement that the clinics provide neutral abortion counseling and referrals upon request.
Last year, Trump said people opposing his orders "are taking advantage of our country" by filing in the 9th Circuit. Although the court sided with Trump's abortion policy, he blasted it when its judges blocked several of his immigration orders.
"We get a lot of bad court decisions from the 9th Circuit, which has become a big thorn in our side," Trump said during a televised teleconference in November.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump administration abortion rules can take effect, 9th Circuit Court says
