The American Medical Association filed a lawsuit that seeks to block a final rule issued by the Trump administration to prohibit taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from providing referrals for abortion.
Four things to know:
1. HHS issued the rule Feb. 22 as part of the federal family planning program, called Title X. The rule applies to health centers that receive federal family planning money, such as those run by the nonprofit Planned Parenthood.
2. An HHS fact sheet of the rule states it bans using Title X funds "to perform, promote, refer for or support abortion as a method of family planning," and "eliminates the requirement that Title X providers offer abortion counseling and referral."
3. In the AMA's lawsuit, filed March 5 in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, the organization argues that the rule would violate patients' rights under the Code of Medical Ethics. The AMA said the rule "would force doctors to violate their obligation to give honest and informed advice, would withhold federal family planning funding from entities that provide critical medical services to vulnerable populations, and would harm millions of patients who rely on Title X for their reproductive health."
4. The lawsuit, joined by the Oregon Medical Association and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, further claims HHS' rule "blesses biased and incomplete pregnancy counseling where the interests of the patient are no longer paramount."
5. After the rule was announced, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, said in a prepared statement that the regulation "directs tax dollars to entities that provide healthcare to women but do not perform abortions," and ensures Title X "is truly about funding family planning, not abortion."
For the full lawsuit, click here.
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