For Immediate Release: October 27, 2022
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, asandusky@nfprha.org 

NFPRHA Urges Circuit Court to Uphold 2021 Title X Rule

Washington, DC – Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will hear oral argument in plaintiffs’ appeal of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in Ohio v. Becerra, the case brought by the Ohio Attorney General on behalf of Ohio and 11 other states to challenge the 2021 Title X rule and reinstate Trump-era restrictions on the Title X family planning program. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.

“With people's reproductive health already in grave danger following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, it is even more critical that people can access a full range of contraceptive methods and sexual health care through the Title X family planning program. As a result of systems of oppression that exist across the nation’s health care system, the people most impacted by abortion bans are the same individuals who disproportionately rely on Title X for care, including Black and Latinx people and people living in rural communities. Rolling back the 2021 Title X rule would deal a devastating blow to providers at a time when many Title X grantees are beginning to rebuild their networks and restore access to care nationwide. We urge the Sixth Circuit to protect the 2021 Title X rule and uphold the integrity of a program that prioritizes the health and dignity of people in need of safety-net family planning care.”

A brief overview of the preliminary injunction phase of the Title X challenge:

• On October 25, 2021, the Ohio Attorney General on behalf of Ohio and eleven other states filed a lawsuit challenging the 2021 rule.
• On November 30, 2021, NFPRHA filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief with the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
• On December 29, 2021, the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio upheld the 2021 Title X rule, denying the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to block the 2021 rule and reinstitute the 2019 Title X rule. The plaintiff states appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
• In February 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to temporarily enjoin the 2021 Title X rule pending the state plaintiffs’ appeal of the district court’s December 29 ruling.

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.