Tennessee AG Skrmetti Sues Biden Administration Over Withheld Federal Funds During Abortion Battle

After the Biden Administration bypassed the state of Tennessee completely and decided to give the state’s Title X funding directly to Planned Parenthood in September, Tennessee’s attorney general is taking action. 

“We are suing to stop the federal government from playing politics with the health of Tennessee women,” Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Our lawsuit is necessary to ensure that Tennessee can continue its 50-year track record of successfully providing these public health services to its neediest populations.”

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Biden Reverses Trump Rule Blocking Federal Funds from Going to Abortion Businesses

President Joe Biden’s administration is revoking a rule that prevented federal family planning aid from going to health centers that performed or referred abortions.

The new rule, which goes into effect Nov. 8, allows Title X federal family planning funds to go to health centers which refer patients for abortions, according to The Washington Post. Title X, created in 1970 under the direction of former President Richard Nixon, has always forbidden the funds from directly paying for abortions, according to the Post.

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The ‘New’ Ninth Circuit Court Rules Trump Admin Stripping Funding From Abortion Clinics Is Constitutional

Fetus on Health

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the Trump administration can continue stripping federal funding from clinics that offer abortions.

The court upheld the Trump administration’s June 2019 declaration that taxpayer-funded clinics must stop referring women for abortions or be stripped of their Title X funding.

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Trump Administration Ends Federally Funded Abortion Referrals

by Mary Margaret Olohan   The Trump administration declared Monday that taxpayer-funded clinics must stop referring women for abortions effective immediately. Family planning clinics that refer women for abortions will be stripped of their Title X funding, according to a measure instigated by President Donald Trump’s administration as reported by CBS News. The Department of Health and Human Services has alerted clinics that they will be enforcing the Trump administration ban, according to CBS. The rules now require that organizations that perform abortions and make abortion referrals will have to do so in separate buildings from those that receive Title X federal funds – a move could potentially cost Planned Parenthood “tens of millions of federal family planning dollars,” according to Politico. “Our doors are still open,” said Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen in a statement. “We will not stop fighting for all those across the country in need of essential care.” “We thank President Trump and Secretary Azar for acting decisively to stop taxpayer funding of the abortion industry, as willed by the American people,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “A strong majority of Americans have consistently voiced their opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion –…

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Court Rules In Favor of Title X And Abortion Restrictions in Major Win for Trump Admin

by Mary Margaret Olohan   An appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration can ban taxpayer-funded abortion clinics from performing abortions or making abortion referrals. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration can bar clinics from performing abortions or making abortion referrals, according to Politico. For the first time in history, the new Title X regulations will allow federal funding to go to faith-based clinics that promote natural family planning or abstinence-only methods. The rule will allow the Trump administration to strip federal funding of any clinic that fails to comply with the new Title X regulations. The move will potentially cost Planned Parenthood “tens of millions of federal family planning dollars,” according to the publication. “Absent a stay, HHS will be forced to allow taxpayer dollars to be spent in a manner that it has concluded violates the law, as well as the Government’s important policy interest in ensuring that taxpayer dollars do not go to fund or subsidize abortions,” the panel of three Republican-appointed judges wrote in a 3-0 opinion. Politico reports that this is a “major blow” for the abortion industry, and Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen called the ruling “unethical,…

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Federal Judge Blocks Trump Rule Barring Abortion Organizations From Receiving Title X Funds

by Grace Carr   A federal judge late Tuesday blocked enforcement of a Trump administration rule barring health care organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals from receiving Title X funding. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the Trump administration’s Feb. 22 rule prohibiting Title X funds from supporting programs and organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals, The Oregonian reported. McShane called the rule a “ham-fisted approach to public health policy,” according to the Oregonian. The rule states that “none of the funds appropriated for Title X may be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.” The move meant to force Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics to separate health services such as cancer screenings, pap smears and breast exams from their abortion services. Title X grant recipients were already banned from conducting abortions with these federal funds prior to the ruling. The rule also “requir[es] the physical and financial separation of Title X projects and facilities from programs and facilities where abortion is a method of family planning,” according to the text. The rule mandates clinics report cases of rape, incest and human trafficking, as federal law…

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Democrat North Carolina Attorney General Joins Suit Against Protect Life Rule

North Carolina’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein has pulled the Tarheel state into a multi-state suit challenging the Trump Administrations ‘Protect Life Rule‘ as part of Title X. “Title X clinics screen for cancer, prevent unintended pregnancies, and reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections,” said Attorney General Josh Stein in a press release. “These are critical healthcare services that change and save lives. This proposed gag rule would prevent women in North Carolina from making the healthcare decisions that allow them to lead happy, healthy lives.” The national suit was filed March 4 by 20 other states and District of Columbia with California filing its own version. North Carolina will be the only state in the south to join the suit. The other states involved are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. All of the states involved have Democratic attorney generals. “North Carolina Values Coalition supports the Trump administration’s Protect Life Rule, which redirects Title X family planning program funds away from the abortion industry and bars taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring patients to abortion providers,” said Tami Fitzgerald, NC…

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America’s Biggest Medical Association Sues Trump Administration Over Abortion Rule

by Grace Carr   The American Medical Association and Planned Parenthood filed a Tuesday lawsuit against the Trump administration over its latest move to force abortion clinics to separate abortion from other health care services in order to qualify for Title X funding. The groups argue that the final rule is unconstitutional and violates a congressional mandate requiring health care providers receiving Title X funds to provide complete and unbiased information to patients. They filed their lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon. Title X is a federal grant program that provides individuals with “comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services,” according to HHS. “Because of the administration’s overreach and interference … physicians will be prohibited from having open, frank conversations with their patients about all their health care options,”AMA President Barbara McAneny said, according to The Associated Press. “This blatant violation of patients’ rights under the Code of Medical Ethics is untenable.” The lawsuit follows the Trump administration’s Feb. 22 rule barring Title X funds from supporting programs and organizations that provide abortions or abortion referrals. The rule states that “none of the funds appropriated for Title X may be used in programs where abortion is…

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Representative Diane Black Calls Out the U.S. Senate for It’s Continued Funding of Planned Parenthood

Representative Diane Black appeared on FoxNews’ ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ to discuss the how it is that the Republican Congress continues to fund the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. In his set-up to the interview with Black, Carlson said, “Congressional Republicans have repeatedly promised to defund Planned Parenthood. It’s hasn’t happened or even come close to happening. Even now, the country’s biggest abortion provider gets more than 500 million taxpayer dollars every year.” “Would Democrats be okay if the NRA [National Rifle Association] got half-a-billion a year? Would they let that stand?” After introducing Representative Black, Carlson said, “You’ve said many times on the record – and you seem like one of the more sincere Republican members on this question – that you’re opposed to giving half-a-billion dollars to Planned Parenthood, which is just an adjunct to the Democratic Party. Why hasn’t the Republican Congress defended it? Specifically, why?” Black replied, “That goes over to the Senate. Twice now with my leadership we have passed, in 2015 and 2017, a measure in the House, sent it over to the Senate, and they have not done their work. “I want to challenge anyone watching this show who is pro-life to call your senator and ask them where…

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