White House Reverses Trump-Era Block on Funds for Clinics Giving Abortion Referrals
KEEPIN' IT SAFE AND LEGAL
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The Biden administration announced on Monday it would be overturning a controversial step made by former president Donald J. Trump to bar organizations from receiving federal family planning money if they advised clients on abortion procedures. The new rule will undo much of a policy known as the Title X family planning program, allowing clinics that refer patients for abortions to once again receive federal grants. In the wake of the Supreme Court's refusal to block the controversial Texas abortion law, Biden's new federal regulation is set to take effect on Nov. 8.
The 2019 Trump rewrite of the half-century old Title X drove organizations like Planned Parenthood, which had relied heavily on the program to subsidize its healthcare procedures, to withdraw from it. Millions of dollars were then redirected to anti-abortion and religious-based organizations. The rewrite was slammed by critics at the time as an “abortion gag rule.” The new rule will “allow for the Title X service network in size and capacity to provide quality family planning services to more clients,” according to a statement by the assistant secretary for health.