SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 7-4 yesterday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Title X funding rule for federal family planning programs, called the Protect Life Rule, is constitutional. The Trump administration’s rule means the defunding of Planned Parenthood by as much as $60 million in Title X funds annually.
The HHS issued the rule to stop the flow of Title X federal funds to family planning facilities that perform abortions or do abortion referrals. This regulation means that clinics that receive federal family planning grants called Title X — which pay for birth control, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and cancer screenings — will not be allowed to be housed in the same buildings as those that also provide abortions. It does not reduce Title X funds; it redirects them to providers that do not perform or promote abortions.
