Planned Parenthood is withdrawing from Title X, the federal program that provides family planning and birth control services to low-income patients, due to the organization's disagreement with a new Trump administration rule prohibiting referrals to abortion providers, according to The New York Times.
Five things to know:
1. Under the new rule, providers who receive funding from Title X can talk about abortion with patients but may not refer women to an abortion provider or provide advice on where women could receive an abortion.
2. Planned Parenthood announced the withdrawal Aug. 19, citing the new rule as the main reason for its decision.
"When you have an unethical rule that will limit what providers can tell our patients, it becomes really important that we not agree to be in the program," said Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood's acting president.
3. Meanwhile, HHS said groups withdrawing from the program are "blaming the government for their own actions" in an Aug. 19 statement to The New York Times. Antiabortion groups, which have long sought to deprive Planned Parenthood of federal funding, applauded the organization's withdrawal.
4. Until now, Planned Parenthood has received more money from Title X than any other group and served 40 percent of all Title X patients. The effects of the organization's withdrawal may vary by state, however: Hawaii, Illinois, New York, Oregon and Washington said they will not participate in Title X under the new rule.
5. Organizations including Planned Parenthood and over 20 states have filed lawsuits to challenge the new rule, but a federal appeals court has said the rule could take effect while the cases are still pending.