Judges Hear Appeal Challenging Trump Administration’s Abortion Funding Rule
A panel of 11 judges for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments Monday on the regulation. It bans clinics funded by the Title X federal family planning program from making abortion referrals unless the woman’s life is in danger. The lawsuit challenging the rule is backed by 22 states as well as Planned Parenthood and other organizations.
The Associated Press:
Appeals Court Weighs Challenges To Trump Abortion Rule
An appeals court is considering whether to block a Trump administration rule that bans taxpayer-funded health clinics from referring patients for an abortion — a rule that has already prompted many providers, including Planned Parenthood, to leave a longstanding federal family planning program. Eleven judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments Monday in challenges brought by 22 states as well as Planned Parenthood and other organizations. (Johnson, 9/23)
Los Angeles Times:
A Divided 9th Circuit Could Uphold Trump's New Abortion Referral Rule
A federal appeals court appeared divided along party lines Monday on whether to uphold a new Trump administration rule that denies federal family planning money to clinics that refer patients for abortions. During a hearing in San Francisco, an 11-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether to reinstate preliminary injunctions issued by three district judges against the new rule. Seven of the judges chosen randomly for the panel are Republican appointees, including two new judges Trump placed on the court. Four of the judges were appointed by Democrats. (Dolan, 9/23)
Politico Pro:
Blue States, Planned Parenthood Urge Court To Throw Out Trump Anti-Abortion Rule
Democrat-led states, medical providers and advocacy groups, including Planned Parenthood, urged a federal appeals court on Monday to throw out the Trump administration's overhaul of the Title X federal family planning program, saying the new rules are trampling on the reproductive rights of millions of women without delivering significant benefits. Administration lawyers, however, countered that the flap over the policy changes is overblown, because only a small percentage of grantees in the Title X program have actually quit over the rules. (Colliver and Ollstein, 9/23)
The Oregonian:
Oregon’s Solicitor General Urges 9th Circuit To Uphold Injunctions Against Trump’s Title X Rules
Oregon’s solicitor general on Monday urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate orders by federal judges in three states to temporarily halt a new Trump administration rule banning taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring patients to abortion providers. A three- judge panel of the 9th Circuit in June allowed the rule to go into effect while it was being challenged in court. (Bernstein, 9/23)
In other abortion-related news —
NPR:
At U.N., Trump Administration Professes 'No International Right To An Abortion'
The Trump administration is calling on U.N. member nations to oppose efforts to promote access to abortion internationally, a move immediately criticized by reproductive rights groups seeking greater access to the services globally. At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar spoke on behalf of the U.S. and more than a dozen other countries stating that abortion is not an international human right. (McCammon, 9/23)
The Washington Post:
Planned Parenthood’s Woman In Hollywood
[Caren] Spruch is the rare person in the abortion rights movement for whom the past few years represent a long-awaited breakthrough in addition to a series of terrifying setbacks. She’s Planned Parenthood’s woman in Hollywood — or, in official terms, its director of arts and entertainment engagement. She encourages screenwriters to tell stories about abortion and works as a script doctor for those who do (as well as those who write about any other area of Planned Parenthood’s expertise, such as birth control or sexually transmitted infections). It’s a role she slipped into sideways, but one that now seems to be increasingly welcome in Hollywood. (Caplan-Bricker, 9/23)
