Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday announced a lawsuit against the Biden administration, aimed to prevent the funding of abortion by federal tax funds.
The lawsuit, which is joined by 11 other states, targets the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for changing a rule that prevented federally funded family planning clinics from abortion referrals.
“You can’t ‘follow the money’ when all the money is dumped into one pot and mixed together,” said Yost, the former Auditor of State. “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.”
According to a press release from Yost’s office, the lawsuit does not challenge the right to an abortion:
“The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. Southern District of Ohio, does not challenge the right to an abortion, which the U.S. Supreme Court created in Roe v. Wade. Instead, it seeks to reinstate rule changes made in 2019 that required federally funded family-planning clinics to (1) be physically and financially independent of abortion clinics and (2) refrain from referring patients for abortions.”
Yost argues that the measure violates a provision of The Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970, which states funds can not be “used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”
“Our nation’s family planning clinics play a critical role in delivering health care, and today more than ever, we are making clear that access to quality family planning care includes accurate information and referrals — based on a patient’s needs and direction,” claimed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra at the time of reversal.
Previously, Yost and 20 other states advised Becerra against the rule change.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
