{"id":201044,"date":"2019-04-26T01:25:57","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T06:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=201044"},"modified":"2019-04-26T01:25:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T06:25:57","slug":"washington-judge-blocks-trump-family-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-judge-blocks-trump-family-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington judge temporarily blocks Trump family planning rule nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services instituted a rule change on Title X family planning funding which was set to go into effect May 3rd. The rule, dubbed by the abortion industry and media friends as a “gag rule,” would have prevented Title X funding recipients from referring patients for abortions, and would have required that abortion providers physically and financially separate their abortion facilities from their facilities providing birth control services — 120 days to comply financially, and one year to comply physically. More than 20 states filed suit<\/a> against the Trump administration. The decision would have affected Planned Parenthood to the tune of a potential loss of $60 million annually in federal taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, an Oregon judge announced<\/a> his intention to partially block the Title X rule, but said he would not make a decision affecting the rule nationally. Today, however, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, issued a nationwide injunction<\/a> against the rule. The New York Times reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Judge Bastian wrote that the plaintiffs in the case had \u201csubmitted substantial evidence of harm\u201d if the administration\u2019s rule were to take effect. \u201cYet,\u201d he wrote, \u201cthe government\u2019s response in this case is dismissive, speculative and not based on any evidence presented in the record before this court.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Fox News<\/a>, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson claimed that the judge’s ruling “ensures that clinics across the nation can remain open and continue to provide quality, unbiased healthcare to women.”<\/p>\n

Ferguson also claimed “Trump\u2019s ‘gag rule’\u00a0would have jeopardized healthcare access to women across the country,” and that “Title X clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, provide essential services \u2013 now they can keep serving women while we continue to fight to keep the federal government out of the exam room.” As previously noted<\/a> by Live Action News, “Planned Parenthood\u2019s facilities are all housed under the same roof, so to speak, which means that any funds going toward Planned Parenthood for birth control services are also serving to keep its abortion business functioning, due to fungibility<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

READ: Planned Parenthood\u2019s loss of family planning funds won\u2019t hurt women<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n