{"id":288798,"date":"2023-04-09T11:42:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T16:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=288798"},"modified":"2023-04-07T12:07:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T17:07:12","slug":"biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee’s abortion policy"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require that physicians refer patients for the types of abortions that are illegal in the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Letters between Tennessee and the federal Health and Human Services (HHS) Department showed the latter taking issue with policy language directing clinics to provide \u201cinformation and counseling regarding all options that are legal in the State of Tennessee.\u201d (Read the letters here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n

HHS\u2019 decision reflected conflicting changes to state abortion policy after <\/span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i> and President Biden\u2019s pro-abortion vision, which included reversing a rule that blocked Title X funds for clinics that referred for the procedure. In August, the state\u2019s <\/span>trigger ban<\/span><\/a> took effect with an exception for the health of the mother.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal government is denying Tennessee funding that has supported critical maternal and family care for thousands of Tennesseans for decades,\u201d Jade Byers, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Lee (D), told Live Action News on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAs we discuss next steps with the Attorney General\u2019s office, Governor Lee will fulfill his commitment to serving families by proposing to amend the state budget to include state dollars to fill the void caused by the federal government\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>The Chattanooga Times Free Press<\/span><\/a>, Tennessee received $7.1 million in Title X funds in FY2022. Lee is proposing a budget amendment that includes $7.5 million in recurring funds. In order to prevent a lapse in care, Lee is also proposing $1.875 million in non-recurring funding for FY2023.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Title X is a highly contentious federal grant program that has seen changes over multiple administrations. The Trump administration controversially enacted a \u201cgag rule\u201d that precluded clinics from receiving funding if they referred patients for abortion. In 2021, the Biden administration reversed that rule.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tennessee Department of Health had told HHS in a March 13 letter that it considered the federal government\u2019s regulation to be \u201cbroad and undefined\u201d in its requirement that physicians, when unable to perform abortions, refer patients for \u201cterminat[ing] the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the regulation\u2019s broad and undefined language, Tennessee\u2019s nondirective policy appears to be in compliance with Title X given the standard of care in Tennessee,\u201d said Health Commissioner Dr. Ralph Alvarado.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Walgreens<\/a><\/p>\n

By March 20, HHS Office of Population Affairs responded by indicating that it still expected the state\u2019s physicians to refer patients for abortions in other states:<\/span><\/p>\n

On March 13, 2023, you responded that Tennessee’s nondirective policy appears to be in compliance with Title X given the standard of care in Tennessee. You indicated that, pursuant to Tennessee law, Title X subgrantees\u2019 physicians can comply with the Title X nondirective options counseling and referral requirements set out in 42 CFR \u00a7 59.5(a)(5) by referring patients for “terminat[ing] the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant” when the termination is with intent “to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead fetus.” Tenn. Code Ann.\u00a7 39-15-213(a)(1) (excluding such procedures from the definition of abortion). For these reasons, Tennessee does not construe the phrase “pregnancy termination” to include every possible method of “pregnancy termination,” such as abortion. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

OPA has reviewed your statement and determined that Tennessee\u2019s policy for providing nondirective options counseling and referral within your Title X project remains not in compliance with the Title X regulatory requirements and, therefore, the terms and conditions of your grant. As we indicated in our March 1, 2023, letter, Title X recipients must follow all Federal regulatory requirements regarding nondirective options counseling and referrals, including providing referrals for abortion upon client request. <\/span>We understand that in some circumstances, those referrals will need to be made out of state.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

The letter added that \u201cOPA has recommended not providing Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 continuation funding for the Tennessee Department of Health noncompeting continuation application for <\/span>FPHPA006553<\/span><\/a>, as continued funding is not in the best interest of the government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you know that as little as $10 a month is enough to reach more than 3,000 people with the truth about abortion that no one else is telling them? Click here to start saving lives 365 days a year.<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require that physicians refer patients for the types of abortions that are illegal in the state. Letters between Tennessee and the federal Health and Human Services (HHS) Department showed the latter taking issue with policy language directing clinics to provide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":868,"featured_media":172492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBiden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/birth-control-contraception-700x350.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Dorman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Dorman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Dorman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6e2393eb153ee79febfd549cafcfabd\"},\"headline\":\"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee’s abortion policy\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\"},\"wordCount\":713,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Issues\",\"Newsbreak\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\",\"name\":\"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee’s abortion policy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6e2393eb153ee79febfd549cafcfabd\",\"name\":\"Sam Dorman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e4164832783f2867b914c138a436a53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e4164832783f2867b914c138a436a53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Dorman\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/sam-dorman\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy","description":"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy","og_description":"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/birth-control-contraception-700x350.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sam Dorman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Dorman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Dorman","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6e2393eb153ee79febfd549cafcfabd"},"headline":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee’s abortion policy","datePublished":"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/"},"wordCount":713,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Issues","Newsbreak"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/","name":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee's abortion policy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-04-09T16:42:59+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-07T17:07:12+00:00","description":"The Biden administration is withholding millions in family planning grants over Tennessee\u2019s decision not to require abortion referrals out of state.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/biden-administration-tennessee-title-x-funding-abortion\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Biden administration withholds millions in Title X funding over Tennessee’s abortion policy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6e2393eb153ee79febfd549cafcfabd","name":"Sam Dorman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e4164832783f2867b914c138a436a53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7e4164832783f2867b914c138a436a53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Dorman"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/sam-dorman\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/868"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288804,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288798\/revisions\/288804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}