Columbus joins other cities in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Columbus is lending its support to a lawsuit filed by women’s health advocates in an effort to preserve funding for reproductive health care.

The city filed a brief Wednesday in support of Planned Parenthood and other groups behind a lawsuit challenging a federal policy that the organization says prioritizes methods of birth control not supported by the medical community.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy released in February roughly $260 million in Title X money — which is earmarked for women’s health — to cover a broader range of services. Fertility awareness, or natural family planning, is featured prominently in the document announcing the policy, and it removes an emphasis on FDA-approved methods of birth control. The document never mentions contraception. The legality of the department’s action is currently on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Organizations such as Planned Parenthood worry the changes will leave less money for groups that offer scientifically supported methods of contraception and shift money to groups that promote abstinenceonly sex education and natural family-planning techniques.

“We’re standing against this wrong-headed decision by the federal administration because for the thousands who rely on Planned Parenthood, their access to cancer screenings, (sexually transmitted infections) treatment, and other preventive care is now in jeopardy,” Columbus City Councilwoman Elizabeth Brown said in a news release.

The new policy potentially affects “more than 10,000 Columbus residents who rely on this funding for a broad range of health-care services,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in the news release.

Planned Parenthood, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, sued in May to block the changes.

Twenty state attorneys general have supported the lawsuit, and Columbus is one of nine cities, including Dayton and Cincinnati, to file briefs in support of the lawsuit.

Department of Health and Human Services officials did not respond to a message seeking comment.

HHS is “committed to ensuring that we provide access to quality family planning services to the women and men who depend on this vital public health program,” Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Brett Giroir said in February.