Current:Home > MyAppeals court spikes Tennessee’s bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Appeals court spikes Tennessee’s bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule
View Date:2024-12-23 16:54:47
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court has shot down Tennessee’s attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure.
Last year, Tennessee’s Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a federal complaint seeking to overturn the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to disqualify the state from receiving money offered through a family planning program known as Title X. A lower court later determined that Tennessee was unlikely to succeed and the state appealed that decision.
In 2021, the Biden administration announced that clinics that accept Title X funds must offer information about abortion. However, Skrmetti’s argued that HHS did not alert officials how the rule would apply in states with abortion bans now allowed under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Yet the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argued in a ruling Monday that Tennessee could not use its abortion ban law to “dictate eligibility requirements” for Title X funding. The 31-page ruling means the federal government will not reinstate Tennessee’s Title X funding while the lawsuit continues through the courts.
Furthermore, the appeals court said that the state was not obligated to accept the money and noted that the Tennessee Legislature approved of replacing the lost federal dollars with state funding.
“Tennessee was free to voluntarily relinquish the grants for any reason, especially if it determined that the requirements would violate its state laws,” the ruling stated.
A spokesperson for Skrmetti’s office said they were “reviewing the opinion and considering next steps.”
Tennessee has been a recipient of the program since it launched in 1970, recently collecting around $7.1 million annually to help nearly 100 clinics provide birth control and basic health care services mainly to low-income women, many of them from minority communities.
Under the latest rule, clinics cannot use federal family planning money to pay for abortions, but they must offer information about abortion at the patient’s request.
Tennessee bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy but includes some narrow exceptions.
In March of 2023, HHS informed Tennessee health officials that the state was out of Title X compliance because of its policy barring clinics from providing information on pregnancy termination options that weren’t legal in the state — effectively prohibiting any discussions on elective abortions. The state defended its policy and refused to back down, causing the federal government to declare that continuing Tennessee’s Title X money was “not in the best interest of the government.”
HHS later announced that Tennessee’s Title X funds would largely be directed to Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the United States, which would distribute the money to its clinics located in Tennessee.
“Millions of people across the country rely on essential care — like birth control, STI screenings and treatment, cancer screenings, and other key sexual and reproductive health care services — funded by Title X,” said Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi in a statement. “The state’s decision not to comply with all-options counseling is playing politics with our bodies.”
veryGood! (13)
Related
- Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani wins reelection to Arizona US House seat
- Can a president pardon himself?
- ‘Essential’ but Unprotected, Farmworkers Live in Fear of Covid-19 but Keep Working
- 5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger
- Atlanta man dies in shootout after police chase that also kills police dog
- Florida bans direct-to-consumer auto sales but leaves carve-out for Tesla
- The simple intervention that may keep Black moms healthier
- Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal
- Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
- Decades of Science Denial Related to Climate Change Has Led to Denial of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Ranking
- Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's Son Moses Martin Reveals His Singing Talents at Concert
- Patriots cornerback Jack Jones arrested at Logan Airport after 2 loaded guns found in carry-on luggage
- Spills on Aging Enbridge Pipeline Have Topped 1 Million Gallons, Report Says
- This Week in Clean Economy: Major Solar Projects Caught Up in U.S.-China Trade War
- US Election Darkens the Door of COP29 as It Opens in Azerbaijan
- An Oscar for 'The Elephant Whisperers' — a love story about people and pachyderms
- Is Climate Change Fueling Tornadoes?
- The 4 kidnapped Americans are part of a large wave of U.S. medical tourism in Mexico
Recommendation
-
Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda, BMW, Porsche among 304k vehicles recalled: Check car recalls here
-
Bindi Irwin is shining a light on this painful, underdiagnosed condition
-
This week on Sunday Morning (June 18)
-
Commonsense initiative aims to reduce maternal mortality among Black women
-
Lane Kiffin puts heat on CFP bracket after Ole Miss pounds Georgia. So, who's left out?
-
Oklahoma’s Largest Earthquake Linked to Oil and Gas Industry Actions 3 Years Earlier, Study Says
-
Chinese Solar Boom a Boon for American Polysilicon Producers
-
Country Singer Jimmie Allen Apologizes to Estranged Wife Alexis for Affair