Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Appeals Court Denies Planned Parenthood's Request To Block Changes To Family Planning Grants
Politico: Court Rejects Planned Parenthood Bid To Freeze Trump's Family Planning Rule
A federal appeals court has rejected efforts to block the Trump administration from banning abortion referrals by federally funded family planning clinics, including affiliates of Planned Parenthood. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling Friday night will allow the policy to take effect while lawsuits from states, medical groups and reproductive rights advocates continue. (Ollstein, 8/17)
CNN: Planned Parenthood Faces Critical Decision After Abortion-Referral Restriction Upheld
Last month, an en banc panel of 11 judges on the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the court's prior ruling to temporarily allow the Department of Health and Human Services rule to go into effect. The rule would prohibit taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from discussing abortion with patients or referring patients to abortion providers. The following week, HHS told Title X recipients that the new regulations would go into effect despite the pending legal challenges. Planned Parenthood then lobbied the court to reconsider its decision. (Kelly, 8/16)
The Daily Beast: Planned Parenthood Could Pull Out Of Title X Over Trump Gag Rule
For months, Planned Parenthood has been battling a new Trump administration rule that bars taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from talking with their patients about abortion, or referring them to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood deemed the measure a “gag rule” and said it would pull out of Title X—the program that administers the funds—rather than comply with the new regulations. (Shugerman, 8/17)
The Hill: Trump Abortion Rule Could Hit Rural Communities Hard
Patients could face new challenges accessing birth control and other reproductive health care services, particularly in rural areas, under changes made by the Trump administration to a federal family planning program. Planned Parenthood, government agencies in blue states and other health providers are expected to tell the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday that they will not comply with its new rules banning recipients of Title X family planning funds from referring women for abortions. (Hellmann, 8/18)
