The Trump administration is filing a request Friday to block facilities from receiving federal dollars for family planning if they are housed in the same building as a clinic that provides abortions.
One of the main intents of the proposal is to shift federal funds from Planned Parenthood, an avowed foe of Republican and the Trump administration, and instead to community and rural health centers, or otherwise pressure Planned Parenthood and other facilities to no longer provide abortions.
[Related: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signs nation’s strictest abortion ban]
The rule would extend to other providers of reproductive healthcare as well. The $286 million in funds, known as Title X, would also be cut from any clinic, hospital or program that supports abortion and would block doctors or nurses in these facilities from referring patients to where they can get one for the purpose of family planning, rather than in cases where a pregnancy would endanger women’s lives or health, or when it’s the result of rape or incest.
The proposal is likely to be challenged in court. Planned Parenthood blasted the administration for its actions, which it had been anticipating and fighting against with Democrats in Congress.
[Related: Planned Parenthood, ACLU sue Iowa over six-week abortion ban]
“Everyone has the right to information about their healthcare — including information about safe, legal abortion, and every woman deserves the best medical care and information, no matter how much money she makes or where she lives. No matter what,” said Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “They won’t get it under this rule.”
The proposal, which is being filed with the Office of Management and Budget, is based on a Reagan-era policy. An administration official denied that the proposal would contain a “gag rule” preventing doctors from counseling women about abortion, as several news reports have stated, though acknowledged that the rule would no longer contain a mandate that clinics must counsel and refer for abortion.
“Donald Trump ran as a pro-life candidate, and has governed as a pro-life president — another promise made and kept,” a Trump administration official said. “He continues working to protect the lives of the unborn, and ensure the abortion industry is no longer supported by taxpayers.”
The Department of Health and Human Services said that the proposal was being filed in order to “ensure compliance” with laws that prohibit federal funds from going toward abortions. The amount the federal government spends on family planning services, including birth control, STD testing, and cancer screenings, will not be cut. The program covers 4 million low-income people, 41 percent of whom receive medical care from Planned Parenthood.
“This is an attempt to take away women’s basic rights, period,” Laguens said. “Under this rule, people will not get the healthcare they need. They won’t get birth control, cancer screenings, STD testing, and treatment, or even general women’s health exams.”
The rule is similar to a 1988 policy under former President Ronald Reagan, which required family planning services to have a “physical separation” and “separate personnel” from abortion providers. The proposal also blocked doctors and nurses from counseling patients about abortion and from telling them where they could go to receive one.
Planned Parenthood and other groups challenged the Reagan-era rule in court. The Supreme Court allowed the policy to move forward but it was never carried out completely. Then-President Bill Clinton rolled back the rules in 1994.
The regulations proposed Friday add a separate provision requiring clinics to adhere to state reporting laws when it comes to documenting the number of patients who arrive at their clinics and are victims of sexual assault, rape and incest.
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have supported efforts to cut off federal funding from Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions. By law, federal funds can go toward abortions only in the cases of rape, incest or when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life or health. But supporters of cutting off funds say that the provision of federal dollars frees up other money for the organization to provide abortions.
“This proposal does not necessarily defund Planned Parenthood, as long as they’re willing to disentangle taxpayer funds from abortion as a method of family planning, which is required by the Title X law,” a Trump administration official said. “Any grantees that perform, support, or refer for abortion have a choice – disentangle themselves from abortion or fund their activities with privately raised funds.”
The anti-abortion group March for Life applauded the administration’s measures.
“This money will now be redirected to comprehensive family health and planning centers that don’t perform abortions and understand that abortion is not healthcare,” Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life. “The pro-life grassroots will be pleased to see President Trump deliver on yet another pro-life promise, and we look forward to continued progress in restoring a culture of life here in the United States.”
The White House has implemented numerous measures that restrict abortion rights, such as reinstating the Reagan-era Mexico City Policy banning government aid to organizations involved in abortion, and expanded it to cover all healthcare funding, rather than those funds aimed only at family planning. He defunded the United Nations Population Fund, blaming it for forced abortions and sterilizations, despite the group’s denial.
Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks Tuesday at a prominent anti-abortion gala, the Susan B. Anthony List “Campaign for Life.” The organization helps to elect politicians who are opposed to abortion.
The organization’s president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, thanked Trump in a statement for issuing the latest proposal.
“President Trump has shown decisive leadership, delivering on a key promise to pro-life voters who worked so hard to elect him,” she said. “This is a major victory which will energize the grassroots as we head into the critical midterm elections.”
