Washington to sue Trump for canceling funding for Planned Parenthood



[ad_1]

WThe State Ashington is ready to continue Trump's administration against the new rules that will force health care clinics to abort and receive federal grants for family planning, which will prevent health care providers from saying to patients where to have an abortion.

Washington State will prosecute the Trump administration in Washington District's US District District Court as soon as the rule is released, which could be as early as Monday. Washington will also file an application for a preliminary injunction preventing the coming into force of the rule, which would otherwise take place 60 days after it is posted.

"I'm only suing if I'm sure we're going to take it away," Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on Monday.

"We will be ready to go to the United States Supreme Court if necessary," he said.

Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Association of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, was also present at the press conference, which was held in Seattle, to announce that the Organization would file its own complaint when the rule would be published. The cases will likely be merged as they go to court. Other states, including California, are also expected to sue, but Ferguson declined to speak before the official announcement of other attorneys general.

The rule at issue is a subsidy of $ 286 million a year, known as Title X, which covers birth control, sexually transmitted disease screening and cancer screening for 4 million low-income people.

The Trump Administration Rule Change, announced Friday, requires the "physical and financial" separation of family planning services and abortion. This would also prevent providers from returning abortions for family planning or practice promotion purposes if they receive Title X grants. Critics have often referred to it as a "gag rule".

"This case involves placing politicians in the room when doctors and patients discuss health care options," Ferguson said. "It's unacceptable and it's illegal."

Clinics will either have to comply with the rules or forgo federal funding. The policy directly targets Planned Parenthood, which receives between $ 50 and $ 60 million a year in Title X grants, and attempts to distribute federal funds to community health centers.

Federal funds are not allowed to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or pregnancy threatening the life of a woman. Opponents of abortion, however, have long struggled for rules similar to that put forward on Friday because they claim that the allocation of federal funds to clinics such as Planned Parenthood releases additional funds allowing clinics to provide abortions.

The rule of the Trump administration is similar to a 1988 policy instituted by President Ronald Reagan, requiring that family planning services have a "physical separation" and a "separate staff" providers of abortions.

Planned Parenthood and other groups challenged in court the rule of the Reagan era. The Supreme Court allowed the policy to go forward, but it has never been applied completely. The then President, Bill Clinton, canceled the rules in 1994.

[ad_2]

Source link