California, Oregon among states suing to block Title X rule

The American Medical Association and Oregon Medical Association have teamed up with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Ore., against the Trump administration after it released Title X family-planning regulations that pulls all funding from abortion clinics.

The same court will be hear an Or- egon-led challenge that includes 21 Democratic state attorneys general as plaintiffs. The states want a preliminary injunction to block the regulation from taking effect in a little less than two months. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra lodged another suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. That adds to Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s recently filed challenge.

The AMA highlighted the regulation’s provision that bars a clinician from directly referring a pregnant patient for an abortion, which AMA President Dr. Barbara McAneny called a “blatant violation of patients’ rights” under the code of medical ethics.

Most significantly, the rule, if it takes effect, would block Planned Parenthood affiliates from the funding. Planned Parenthood clinics see more than 40% of women who get care through Title X.

Until a court weighs in, it’s unclear whether and how soon the regulation will affect current Title X networks. Clinics, including those run by Planned Parenthood, that received funding in September will run out at the end of next month. (See Data Points, p. 31, for more information on Title X.)