New federal rule shields family-planning funds
States barred from blocking federal aid destined for clinics.
WASHINGTON — Mindful of the clock ticking down to a Trump presidency, the Obama administration issued a final rule on Wednesday to bar states from withholding federal family-planning funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates and other health clinics that provide abortions.
The measure, which takes effect two days before the Jan. 20 inauguration of Donald Trump, was proposed three months ago, when many Democrats assumed the next president would be Hillary Clinton; she presumably would have promoted the rule’s completion if it were still pending. It requires that state and local governments distribute federal funds for services related to contraception, sexually transmitted infections, fertilit y, pregnancy care, and breast and cervical cancer screening to qualified health providers, regardless of whether they also perform abortions.
Trump has sent mixed messages on Planned Parenthood’s work, supporting its health-related services other than abortion. Yet with backing from Republican leaders in Congress, he has indicated he will undo many Obama administration rules and regulations, especially last-minute additions. In this case, however, unraveling the new rule would first require a time-consuming process, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The department initiated the rule-making effort in September after more than a dozen Republican-dominated states in recent years h a d moved t o “d e f u n d” P l a n n e d P a re n t h o o d by blocking clinics from receiving public money. Those funds included so-called Title X money — named for the federal family-planning program — as well as Medicaid reimbursements for treating low-income patients.
Federal law already prohibits government funding for abortion, except in cases of rape or incest, or to save a woman’s life. But anti-abortion groups and politicians in a number of states have sought to ban any public payments to abortion providers even for unrelated health services.
State courts have ruled against such restrictions specifically for Medicaid reimbursements, citing the legal right of low-income beneficiaries to seek care where they choose. And the Obama administration warned in April that all states withholding Medicaid payments from Planned Parenthood affiliates would be “out of compliance with federal law.”
But Title X family-planning money is a separate matter. Grants go directly to states and nongovernmental organizations, which then distribute money among health care providers seeking funds for such services. The new rule says that states cannot withhold money from potential recipients for any reason except those that go to their ability to provide the family-planning services.
According to the department, repealing the rule w o u l d r e q u i r e a n e w rule-making process, or a joint resolution of di sapproval by the House and Senate, with concurrence by the new president.
Advocates of reproductive rights acknowledged that prospect is a real one. “This fight is not over,” Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation, said in a statement.