Judge To Block Trump Administration’s Changes To Family Planning Funding, Calling The Rule ‘Ham-Fisted,’ ‘Arrogant’

Reuters: U.S. Federal Judge To Block Trump's New Abortion Rule: Media, Activists
A federal judge in the U.S. state of Oregon will block a move by the Trump administration to cut off federal money to family planning clinics that offer abortion or refer women to abortion providers, activists and media reports said late on Tuesday. President Donald Trump's new Title X rule, set to take effect in May, would halt government funds for Planned Parenthood clinics that subsidize birth control for low-income women, and other clinics that provide abortions. (4/24)

The Associated Press: US Judge In Oregon To Block New Trump Abortion Policy
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane made the comments after more than three hours of arguments in a lawsuit brought by 20 states and the District of Columbia, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported . The states say the rule change, due to take effect May 3, is a transparent attack on Planned Parenthood and a violation of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits "unreasonable barriers to the ability of individuals to obtain appropriate medical care." "At the heart of these rules is an arrogant assumption that the government is better suited to direct women's health care than their providers," Oregon Public Broadcasting quoted the judge as saying. (4/23)

The Hill: Oregon Judge Says He Will Block Trump Abortion Measures 
The changes, most of which are slated to go into effect May 3, also lift a requirement that Title X grant recipients counsel women on abortion as an option. The rules also would require that grant recipients be financially and physically separate from abortion providers, making hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics across the country ineligible for the funding. While federal funds can't go toward abortions, the Trump administration has argued that money is fungible and any going to Planned Parenthood could indirectly support the procedure. (Hellmann, 4/23)

The Oregonian: Judge In Oregon To Grant Preliminary Injunction Against Trump’s Title X Rules Restricting Abortion Access 
They sought a national injunction. But the judge said he’s reluctant to set "national health care'’ policy and would describe the scope of his injunction in a formal written opinion soon. The U.S. Justice Department urged any injunction apply only to the plaintiffs in this case, noting at least four similar suits pending in other states. (Bernstein, 4/23)

Politico: Oregon Judge Says He’ll Block Trump’s Abortion Rule
The American Medical Association, in a statement, said the rule would have created obstacles to health care for low-income patients. "We are pleased the judge shared the AMA’s concern about the physician-patient relationship that the rule would have jeopardized,” said the physician group's president Barbara McAneny. Nearly two dozen states and several medical provider and advocacy groups have filed a series of suits to block the Title X change. Similar arguments were heard last week in San Francisco, and additional hearings will be held this week in Maine and Washington state. (Colliver, 4/23)

Bloomberg: Court To Block Trump Administration's Ban On Abortion Referrals 
Another legal challenge to the rules filed by the state of California is pending in San Francisco federal court. (Mehrotra, 4/23)

The Associated Press: Planned Parenthood: States Should Oppose Trump 'Gag Rule'
It's time for states with leaders who support abortion rights to go on the offensive against Trump administration attempts to restrict abortion that would reduce access to health care, the president of Planned Parenthood said Tuesday. "States are a critical backstop at a time when we have the Trump-Pence administration stripping away women's health and rights and when we cannot depend on the Supreme Court," said Dr. Leana Wen. (Witte, 4/23)

Meanwhile, in other news —

The CT Mirror: Legislators Say Lawsuit Won't Stall Effort To Regulate Faith-Based Pregnancy Centers
A faith-based pregnancy center in Willimantic has asked a federal judge for an injunction against a controversial Hartford ordinance that requires the religious facility and others like it to disclose whether their staff carry medical licenses. Critics of the faith-based institutions say their employees sometimes pose as medical workers to lure women and hand out misleading information about abortions. (Carlesso, 4/23)

The Associated Press: Judge Denies Republicans' Attempt To Join Abortion Lawsuit
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Wisconsin Republican lawmakers' attempt to intervene in a Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging the state's abortion restrictions, saying in a strongly worded order that they presented no evidence that the Democratic attorney general wouldn't adequately defend the laws. U.S. District Judge William Conley wrote in his ruling that the lawmakers failed to demonstrate a right to intervene and that allowing them to join "would likely infuse additional politics into an already politically-divisive area of the law and needlessly complicate this case." (4/23)

The Associated Press: Wisconsin Governor Will Veto Republican-Backed Abortion Bill
Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers promised to veto a Republican-authored bill that could send doctors to prison for life if they fail to give medical care to babies born alive after a failed abortion attempt. Republicans are sending similar bills in other states to liberal-leaning governors in an attempt to energize conservative voters. North Carolina's Democratic governor vetoed a similar bill last week. Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a similar measure in February, leading President Donald Trump to say "they don't mind executing babies." (4/23)