Democrat-led states like Washington, Connecticut, New York, California, and Oregon have stated that they have no problem suing the Trump administration over the new rule that makes a clear distinction between family planning and abortion. The rule, which is set to go into effect in April, takes control of Title X – the federal grant program that gives funding to family planning services. The new rule puts former President Reagan’s “Protect Life Rule,” which puts a stop to having federally funded family planning clinics and abortion clinics in the same place. The new rule will prohibit the use of funds to “perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning.”
On the upside, Planned Parenthood and other providers who choose to offer abortions will still be able to receive funding from the Title X family planning fund as long as they choose to end all of their abortion services or move the abortion services to an entirely different location. Many of the people who are against the Trump administration’s decision believe that it will create a negative impact on those that are considered low-income individuals. However, the March for Life President Jeanne Mancini has explained that new rule will protect those that are at or near the poverty line.
“[The] new regulation protects low-income women who rely on Title X assistance because no funds will be cut from the program,” she said, ensuring that women that are in need can most definitely receive family planning services at federally qualified health centers. “At federally qualified health centers women benefit from better regulatory oversight, a wider range of services, and more life-affirming options. The new Title X regulations are a win-win for all Americans,” explained Mancini.
Meanwhile, Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson, along with leaders from the ACLU, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, and Planned Parenthood, have announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration. Ferguson has claimed that more than half of the 91,284 patients that received family planning services in his state in 2017 were low-income individuals. “I don’t file a lawsuit unless I’m confident we will prevail. We’ve filed 17 cases against this administration. We have not lost a case yet,” said Ferguson.
Ellen Rosenblum, the Oregon Democrat Attorney General, stated that Trump’s administration rule was “a direct assault on our core Oregon values.” “[I]t is wrong and illegal and leaves our state with no choice but to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks to prevent it from going into effect,” said Rosenblum in a press statement about the new rule. The Democrat Attorney General from Connecticut, William Tong, has said that he would take “swift legal action” to preserve the federal funding for Planned Parenthood. “This action seeks to push a politically-motivated, anti-choice agenda on millions of individuals who rely on the Title X program for access to birth control and safe reproductive health care,” he explained.
Amanda Skinner, the president of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, has a more optimistic outlook. She has stated that her organization will be able to use privately donated funds, as well as look for other sources of funding, to cover the $2.4 million that Title X received last year. “We have seen repeated efforts on the part of this administration to dismantle programs or put into place programs that harm people who are already the most marginalized in our society,” said Skinner.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, faith-based groups and pro-life groups from Connecticut, which already take care of their own funding, are more than happy about Trump’s new rule. “We’re grateful for whatever funds are re-directed away from Planned Parenthood because we do not believe that taxpayer funds should go to organizations that offer services that many millions of Americans don’t support, as in abortions,” said the communications director for the Family Institute of Connecticut, Christina Bennett.
The New York Democrat Attorney General Letitia James said in a press statement that the Trump Administration’s new rule was “dangerous and unnecessary.” She stated that “New York will not stand by as this Administration puts New Yorkers’ health at risk for politics, and we will take legal action.” The Catholic News Agency reported that the Planned Parenthood of Illinois will also adapt to the new rule to further allow its patients to receive family planning services. Once the announcement of the new rule was made, the Illinois branch of Planned Parenthood launched their Access Birth Control initiative, which would provide IUDs, condoms, birth control pills, Depo-Provera for free throughout the rest of Trump’s term.
Maine Family Planning, a women’s health care provider, has also said that they were planning on seeking a preliminary injunction to block Trump’s new rule. According to what the Bangor Daily News had to say, the organization receives approximately $2 million in federal funding for family planning every year. Democrat Maine Gov. Janet Mills is aligning herself with Maine Family Planning to “determine what we can do at the state level to protect the health care of Maine women.”
Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins is also supportive of the efforts. “I oppose this misguided rule change that could significantly diminish access for women to crucial contraceptive services, which have been critical in reducing the number of abortions in our country over the past three decades,” said Collins. A spokesperson for Collins said that she would be looking into “potential legislative remedies” for the new rule. The chief of staff to Democratic Governor from California, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Ann O’Leary, has said that her state also has intentions to sue the Trump administration. O’Leary called the rule “unconstitutional” and said that is was an issue “that fundamentally we disagree on in terms of who we are as people.”
