FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2020
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, (202) 344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org

Ninth Circuit Court Ruling Allows the Devastation to the Nation’s Family Planning Program to Continue

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against plaintiffs, including the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, in their challenges to block the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule. Despite not having the full administrative record, the Court of Appeals ruled on the final merits of the case, with the majority of the appeals panel ruling that the regulation is lawful. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of NFPRHA:

“Today’s court decision that allows the administration’s Title X rule to remain in effect is an injustice. It’s clear that the majority of the appeals panel misconstrued the direct damage caused by this illogical policy that forces the program’s grantees and service sites into one of two difficult choices. Some have chosen to stay in the program, despite the rule’s compromises to Title X’s quality of care, for the sake of continuing to offer essential, subsidized care for low-income individuals.

“Others have chosen to leave the program and forego funding in order to avoid the rule’s prohibitions that are contrary to HHS’ own professional standards. More than 30 states have lost part or all of their Title X provider network due to this rule, and there are nearly 1,000 fewer sites in which patients can receive Title X services. Today’s decision will ultimately result in more losses to Title X care.

“Underserved, poor, and low-income people are the most harmed by today’s decision and the Trump administration’s Title X rule. Despite the Title X program’s purpose and long history of providing high-quality health care, and the overwhelming evidence in the administrative record about the rule’s harms and costs, politics have won this round over patients’ lives.

“In spite of this tremendous setback, NFPRHA will not stop fighting to save this bedrock health program and the confidential, compassionate family planning care it ensures millions of people every year.”

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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.