A federal appeals court this morning said the Trump administration's family planning rules can take effect nationwide while several lawsuits challenging the overhaul play out.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration's request to lift national injunctions ordered by lower federal courts in Oregon and Washington state, as well as a statewide injunction in California.
A three-judge panel said the administration will likely prevail in the legal battle over the Title X family planning program since similar Reagan-era rules were upheld by the Supreme Court almost 30 years ago.
"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," wrote the judges, all appointees of previous Republican presidents, in a 3-0 opinion.
Barring further court orders, the Trump administration can enforce a rule finalized this spring that strips federal Title X funding from any clinic that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Provider groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have called this a "gag rule" and warned that it will interfere with sensitive conversations between doctors and patients.
For the first time in the Title X program's decadeslong history, the new rules also allow funding to faith-based clinics opposing abortion and contraception and to promote "natural" family planning methods, including abstinence.
Nearly two dozen states, mostly led by Democrats, as well as provider and progressive advocacy groups have filed numerous lawsuits to overturn the Trump rules.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine