Current:Home > StocksTennessee not entitled to Title X funds in abortion rule fight, appeals court rules-LoTradeCoin
Tennessee not entitled to Title X funds in abortion rule fight, appeals court rules
View Date:2024-12-23 20:27:26
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal officials do not have to reinstate $7 million in family planning grant funding to the state while a Tennessee lawsuit challenging federal rules regarding abortion counseling remains ongoing, an appeals court ruled this week.
Tennessee lost its bid to force the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to restore its Title X funding while the state challenged the federal Department of Health and Human Services program rules. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a lower court's ruling, did not agree with Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's argument that the federal rules infringe on Tennessee's state sovereignty.
In a 2-1 finding, the judicial panel ruled Tennessee cannot use its state laws to "dictate" eligibility requirements for a federal grant.
"And Tennessee was free to voluntarily relinquish the grants for any reason, especially if it determined that the requirements would violate its state laws," the Monday opinion stated. "Instead, Tennessee decided to accept the grant, subject to the 2021 Rule’s counseling and referral requirements."
The Tennessee Attorney General's office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
The federal government last year pulled $7 million in Title X funding, intended for family planning grants for low-income recipients after Tennessee failed to comply with the program requirements to counsel clients on all reproductive health options, including abortion.
Inside the lawsuit
Title X funding cannot be allocated toward an abortion, but the procedure must be presented as a medical option. Tennessee blocked clinics from counseling patients on medical options that aren't legal in the state, which has one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court last year, Skrmetti argued HHS rules about Title X requirements flip-flopped in recent years and that the HHS requirement violates Tennesseans' "First Amendment rights not to engage in speech or conduct that facilitates abortions."
After Tennessee lost the funding last year, Gov. Bill Lee proposed a $7 million budget amendment to make up for the lost funds that had previously gone to the state health department. The legislative funding may have hurt Tennessee's case to restore the federal funding as judges pointed to the available money as evidence Tennessee will not be irreparably harmed if HHS isn't forced to restore its funding stream.
Last August, the federal government crafted a workaround and granted Tennessee's lost funds to the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and Converge, which distributed them to Tennessee organizations. The funds are earmarked for family planning services for low-income residents and directly bypass the state health department, which previously distributed the grants.
Skrmetti filed the lawsuit against the HHS two months later.
Latest federal funding fight
The family planning funding was the second federal funding fight to erupt in 2023.
In January 2023, Tennessee announced it would cut funding for HIV prevention, detection, and treatment programs that are not affiliated with metro health departments, rejecting more than $4 million in federal HIV prevention funds.
Tennessee said it could make up the lost fund with state dollars but advocates decried the move and its potential impact on vulnerable communities as the state remains an HIV-transmission hotspot. The Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY Network, later confirmed Tennessee gave up funding after it tried and failed to cut out Planned Parenthood from the HIV prevention grant program.
veryGood! (522)
Related
- Republican Scott Baugh concedes to Democrat Dave Min in critical California House race
- Suspect killed and officer shot in arm during Chicago shootout, police say
- Keanu Reeves and Girlfriend Alexandra Grant Make Rare Public Outing at Star-Studded Event
- What to know about Elijah McClain’s death and the cases against police and paramedics
- Stock market today: Asian stocks decline as China stimulus plan disappoints markets
- Indian states vote in key test for opposition and PM Modi ahead of 2024 national election
- Captain found guilty of ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ in boat fire that killed 34 off California coast
- Baltimore City, Maryland Department of the Environment Settle Lawsuits Over City-Operated Sewage Treatment Plants
- New York nursing home operator accused of neglect settles with state for $45M
- With electric vehicle sales growth slowing, Stellantis Ram brand has an answer: An onboard charger
Ranking
- Inflation ticked up in October, CPI report shows. What happens next with interest rates?
- 22 UN peacekeepers injured when convoy leaving rebel area hit improvised explosive devices, UN says
- Israelis overwhelmingly are confident in the justice of the Gaza war, even as world sentiment sours
- UN Security Council fails to agree on Israel-Hamas war as Gaza death toll passes 10,000
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
- Supreme Court to hear arguments in gun case over 1994 law protecting domestic violence victims
- WeWork seeks bankruptcy protection, a stunning fall for a firm once valued at close to $50 billion
- Eye drop recall list: See the dozens of eye care products recalled in 2023
Recommendation
-
Amazon Prime Video to stream Diamond Sports' regional networks
-
Illinois lawmakers scrutinize private school scholarships without test-result data
-
'I thought I was going to die': California swimmer survives vicious otter attack
-
A year after 2022 elections, former House Jan. 6 panel members warn of Trump and 2024 danger
-
COINIXIAI Introduce
-
German federal court denies 2 seriously ill men direct access to lethal drug dose
-
Eye drop recall list: See the dozens of eye care products recalled in 2023
-
Body cam video shows girl rescued from compartment hidden in Arkansas home's closet