A second federal judge has blocked a gag rule that would have stripped federal funding known as Title X for Planned Parenthood and other clinics that refer patients for abortions or even mention abortion as an option. The judge’s ruling halts the rule, which was announced by President Trump in February and was scheduled to go into effect on May 3. Washington state Federal Judge Stanley Bastian ruled against the changes to Title X funding Thursday, saying they would require clinics “to face a Hobson’s choice that harms patients as well as the providers.” This came two days after an Oregon judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the gag order from going into effect, calling the rule a “ham-fisted approach to public health policy.” Title X covers non-abortion services like STD prevention, cancer screenings and contraception, and provides over $280 million in funding for 4 million mostly low-income women every year. We speak with the president of Planned Parenthood, Dr. Leana Wen. She says the gag rule would force doctors “to compromise the oath that we took to serve our patients.”
AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to turn to the Trump administration’s attack on reproductive rights here in the United States. A second federal judge has blocked a gag rule that would have stripped federal funding known as Title X for Planned Parenthood and other clinics that refer patients for abortion or even mention abortion as an option. The judge’s ruling halts the gag rule, which was announced by President Trump in February and was scheduled to go into effect May 3rd. Washington state Federal Judge Stanley Bastian ruled against the changes to Title X funding Thursday, saying they would require clinics “to face a Hobson’s choice that harms patients as well as the providers.” This came two days after an Oregon judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the gag order from going into effect, calling the rule a “ham-fisted approach to public health policy.” Oregon Federal Judge Michael McShane said, quote, “At the heart of these rules is an arrogant assumption that the government is better suited to direct women’s health care than their providers,” he said.
Title X covers non-abortion services like STD prevention, cancer screenings, contraception; provides over $280 million in funding for 4 million mostly low-income women every year.
View the complete April 27 article by Amy Goodman on the AlterNet website here.