Supreme Court won’t restore Oklahoma family planning funds over abortion hotline dispute – Washington Examiner
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to restore federal funding for family planning services in Oklahoma after the state refused to provide abortion referrals or distribute a national hotline number for abortion information. This decision upholds the Biden Administration’s stance to withhold approximately $4.5 million in funding from Oklahoma’s family planning services under Title X, a program that supports public and private healthcare providers in offering family planning services.
The case arose after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) introduced a rule in 2021 requiring Title X providers to offer unbiased counseling on various options, including abortion. After the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in *Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization*, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, HHS allowed Title X providers to comply by supplying a third-party hotline number for abortion referrals. Although Oklahoma initially agreed to this requirement, it later reversed its position, leading to the loss of federal funds.
Republican-appointed Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch expressed their willingness to hear Oklahoma’s case, reflecting a divide in the Court regarding the issue. Oklahoma argues that HHS’s regulation imposes requirements that should be left for states to decide, claiming that the withdrawal of Title X services would severely impact county health departments‘ ability to provide essential care.
Supreme Court won’t restore Oklahoma family planning funds over abortion hotline dispute
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to reinstate federal funding for Oklahoma’s family planning services under Title X after the state declined to provide abortion referrals or distribute a national hotline number for such information.
This decision upholds the stance of the Biden Department of Health and Human Services to withhold millions of dollars from Oklahoma. Republican-appointed Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted Oklahoma’s petition to hear oral arguments on the merits of the case.
Title X, a program established in 1970, funds public and private healthcare providers for family planning services. In 2021, HHS introduced a rule requiring providers to offer nondirective counseling on prenatal care, adoption, and abortion, including details on where these services can be accessed.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, which eliminated the right to abortion, HHS permitted Title X providers to comply with the rule by sharing a third-party hotline number for abortion referrals.
Oklahoma initially agreed but later reversed its position, resulting in the loss of approximately $4.5 million in federal funds. The Oklahoma State Department of Health distributes federal funding to public health services and county health departments throughout the state.
“HHS’s regulation foists upon Oklahoma a requirement concerning an issue that has been recognized as specifically reserved to the people to address in Dobbs,” according to Oklahoma’s petition, referring to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling leaving authority over abortion access to the states. The state also argued that depriving county health departments of Title X services “would be devastating.”
The Sooner State contended that the federal government violated the spending clause of the Constitution and an amendment protecting providers from discrimination for refusing to provide abortion referrals based on religious or moral grounds.
However, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed these claims, and the Supreme Court has now refused to grant an emergency injunction.
A related case in Tennessee involving a $7 million grant was similarly denied by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Oklahoma asked the Supreme Court to act by Aug. 30, the date to which the federal government agreed to wait before distributing to other entities the grants that would have gone to the state.
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