The Obama administration issued a rule on Wednesday to block states from withholding federal funds for family-planning intended for Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortions.
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The measure is one of many the Obama administration is taking that will go into effect just before Donald Trump gets inaugurated on January 20. The rule requires states and local governments to distribute federal funds for services related to contraception, sexually transmitted infections, fertility, pregnancy care, and breast and cervical cancer screening to qualified health providers, regardless of whether those health clinics also perform abortions.
The new 30-page rule, posted on Wednesday morning on the website of the Federal Register, will not take effect, however, until Jan. 18, 30 days after the rule appears in the paper version of the Register. And according to the department, repealing the rule would require a new rule-making process, or a joint resolution of disapproval by the House and Senate, with concurrence by the new president.
The Obama administration initiated the effort around this new rule in September after over a dozen Republican-dominated states moved to “defund” Planned Parenthood by blocking clinics from receiving public money. Those funds included federal family-planning program funds as well as Medicaid reimbursements for treating low-income patients.
The truth is that federal law already prohibits government funding for abortion with the exception of cases of rape, incest or to save a woman’s life. However, Republicans politicians and anti-abortion groups in a number of states have attempted to block any public funds to health clinics that provide abortion services, even for unrelated health services.
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The Obama administration warned in April that states that withhold Medicaid payments from Planned Parenthood affiliates would be “out of compliance with federal law.” And state courts have ruled against these kinds of funding restrictions specifically for Medicaid reimbursements, citing that low-income individuals have the right to seek health care as they choose.
The new Obama administration rule says that states can not withhold money from recipients for any reason except those that go to their ability to provide the family-planning services.
“This rule will strengthen access to essential services like cancer screenings and contraception for some of the most vulnerable patients in this country,” Dr. Karen A. Scott, chief medical officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.
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