Anti-abortion groups hailed the move.
The Trump administration is set to cut federal funding to all family health care clinics that refer patients to abortion providers or share medical facilities with them, the White House announced Friday evening.
The new rule — which mirrors a Reagan-era rule from the 1980s — would impose a “clear line” of physical and financial separation between taxpayer-funded family planning programs and “any program or facility where abortion is performed. , supported or referred for as a family planning method,” an administration official said. The Department of Health and Human Services will file the rule with the Office of Management and Budget.
In a statement, the White House said the proposed rule “fulfills President Donald J. Trump’s promise to continue improving women’s health and to ensure that federal funds are not used to fund the healthcare industry.” abortion in violation of the law”.
The restrictions will apply to about $280 million in funding from Title X, a federal program that provides family planning and preventive health services to more than 4 million people, mostly women and adolescents. Federal law already prohibits the direct funding of abortions, such as through Medicaid.
The rule will override a Clinton-era requirement that abortion be discussed as an option with patients, but will not ban abortion counseling, according to the Trump administration.
The new policy is seen as targeting Planned Parenthood, whose clinics receive federal funding for family planning and preventive health care. Legal challenges are likely.
“The Trump administration and the anti-choice extremists it is bowing to with this dangerous rule know that knowledge is power, which is why they are directly attacking a woman’s right to know exactly what her complete options are. of unwanted pregnancy. NARAL-Pro Choice America President Ilyse Hogue said in a statement. “The voters of this country will certainly remember this ruthless action in November and for a long time.”
Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups hailed the planned move as fulfilling a key Trump campaign promise.
“We thank President Trump for taking action to untangle taxpayers from the abortion industry,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List, said in a statement. “President Trump has shown decisive leadership, delivering on a key promise to the pro-life voters who worked so hard to elect him. This is a major victory that will energize the grassroots as we head into the election. mid-term reviews.”
The administration said Planned Parenthood and family planning services will not be funded. “The proposal will not reduce funding for family planning services by a penny,” an official said.
The Trump administration has been aggressive in its support for anti-abortion measures.
The president plans to give the keynote address at the annual Campaign for Life gala for anti-abortionist Susan B. Anthony List next Tuesday.
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