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, legal, and harmful.”
“The Trump-Pence administration’s gag rule is unethical, illegal, and harmful to public health,” Wen said in a tweet, “and Planned Parenthood will not stand for this attack on millions of people across the country. We will immediately seek emergency relief from the Court of Appeals.“
The Trump-Pence administration’s gag rule is unethical, illegal, and harmful to public health—and Planned Parenthood will not stand for this attack on millions of people across the country.
The Trump-Pence administration’s gag rule is unethical, illegal, and harmful to public health—and Planned Parenthood will not stand for this attack on millions of people across the country.
We will immediately seek emergency relief from the Court of Appeals. #ProtectX #NoGagRule https://t.co/jc7xL835rM
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) June 20, 2019
“If this new rule takes effect, it will devastate the only federal family planning program and the people who rely on it,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a tweet. “We’re considering all options in response to today’s ruling, to ensure people are able to get the care they need.
If this new rule takes effect, it will devastate the only federal family planning program and the people who rely on it.
If this new rule takes effect, it will devastate the only federal family planning program and the people who rely on it.
We're considering all options in response to today's ruling, to ensure people are able to get the care they need. https://t.co/tfsIDAXUdQ
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 20, 2019
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Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Mary on Twitter.
Background Photo “Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals” by Ken Lund. CC BY-SA 2.0.
