The Biden administration reversed a Trump-era policy prohibiting federally-funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said Monday.
“Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to strengthen the Title X family planning program, fulfilling the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to restore access to equitable, affordable, client-centered, quality family planning services,” the statement reads.
In the final rule, it describes the change as a way to “readopt” regulations and “revoke the requirements of the 2019 regulations, including removing restrictions on nondirective options counseling and referrals for abortion services and eliminating requirements for strict physical and financial separation between abortion-related activities and Title X project activities.”
Prior to 2019, federally-funded family planning clinics did not utilize tax dollars for abortions. The Trump administration’s policy took this a step further, not allowing these clinics to refer patients to abortions.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s Title X rule focuses on restoring quality, dignity, and respect for the millions of individuals who rely on the nation’s family planning program because the ability to plan if and when to expand our families is fundamental to who we are and who we may choose to become,” said Jessica Swafford Marcella, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, in a statement.
The HHS’s rule is another move by the Biden administration to railroad their pro-abortion agenda in the wake of abortion-restricting laws arising across the country. Last month, Texas enacted S.B. 8, a law prohibiting abortion upon fetal heartbeat detection. Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear a case on Dec. 1 surrounding the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that would outlaw abortions at 15 weeks gestation.
Since then, President Biden promised a “whole-of-government” effort to fight S.B. 8, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) suing Texas over the law. Currently, House Democrats are also trying to undermine pro-life legislation by introducing a bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) , that would “codify” the precedents set by Roe v. Wade into federal law and upend state laws restricting abortion.