The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, asks a federal judge to block the Biden administration from once again allowing Title X "family planning funds" from being granted to abortion businesses.
Biden's administration recently announced that it is rescinding the "Protect Life Rule," which the Trump administration instituted in 2019. The rule required Title X grant recipients to physically and financially separate themselves from organizations that commit abortion or refer women for abortions. If an organization offers abortion or refers patients for abortions, then it was ineligible for Title X grants. Planned Parenthood opted out of the program as a result of Trump's rule. In doing so, they stepped away from tens of millions of dollars annually.
Additionally, Biden's new rule requires Title X grant recipients to refer women for abortions.
According to the 12 Attorneys General filing this lawsuit, the Biden administration did not follow the proper rule-making procedures when rescinding the rule.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led the lawsuit, arguing that the Biden rule “unlawfully permits funds appropriated under Title X of the Public Health Service Act to be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning,”
The Attorneys General seek a preliminary injunction to block the new rule's implementation.