Republican state attorneys general have sent a letter to the Biden Administration which threatened legal action if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passes a proposal which allows abortion providers to receive millions of dollars in taxpayer funding.
The letter, written by Ohio attorney general David Yost and cosigned by 20 additional attorneys general, disagrees with an April 15 proposal that reverses a Trump-era rule that separated the Title X family grant program with abortion services, according to the Daily Wire.
This reversal would allow abortion providers to receive millions of taxpayer dollars, which could put the recipients of the family funding program in “jeopardy of violating federal law,” according to Yost.
“Title X reflects a compromise. It funds services that large numbers of Americans support while withholding that funding from services that large numbers oppose,” stated Yost. “The Proposed Rule tramples that compromise, by intertwining family-planning services with the divisive issue of publicly funded abortions.”
Also requested by the attorneys general is the necessity of the Biden administration to clarify the term “health equity,” which in their eyes can lead to discrimination.
“All applicants must already indicate the number of patients served and the extent to which family planning services are needed locally, and grant priority is given to projects that serve low-income families,” the letter says.
“In addition, health programs that receive funding from the Department may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Thus existing law requires nondiscriminatory treatment, aimed to those patients most in need.”
The letter continues, “To the extent promoting health equity merely reiterates these requirements, such clarification is useful. To the extent promoting health equity differs, and either requires discrimination on the basis of race or should not be aimed at certain patients, such clarification would be necessary though likely contrary to law.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal.
Other critiques
Thirty-three Republican senators also took issue with this proposal.
“As Members of Congress, we have a unique Constitutional interest and oversight role in ensuring regulations governing the Title X program comport with the law and Congressional intent,” stated the senators.
“Abortion is not family planning; it is family destruction,” the senators wrote.
“This principle is enshrined in Title X’s authorization in section 1008 of the Public Health Service Act. The Proposed Rule defies the law and would siphon tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in Title X funding towards Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, to the detriment of American taxpayers, the consciences of health care providers, and the lives of unborn children.”
It is unclear whether the HHS will follow through with this proposal.
