Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Challenging Trump-Era Title X Rule

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has agreed to review three consolidated cases today challenging the Trump administration’s rule affecting the Title X national family planning program.

The following is a joint statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Medical Association, Essential Access Health, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“We welcome the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the Ninth Circuit’s erroneous opinion upholding a Trump administration rule that imposed drastic changes on the Title X federal family planning program. This rule continues to bring immense harm to people across the country who depend on affordable reproductive health care like birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment, among other essential health services that Title X provides. Tragically, but predictably, this disproportionately impacts Black and Brown patients who are more likely to face the worst health and economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In a petition to the high court last fall, we urged a review of the Title X ‘gag rule,’ which, among many harmful restrictions, inappropriately interferes with the patient-physician relationship and conflicts with the ethical obligations of physicians and other health care providers — ultimately jeopardizing patient access to safe care.

“Title X has an essential role in ensuring that all Americans — regardless of where they live or how much money they make — have access to comprehensive reproductive health care. We remain committed to securing a swift outcome, whether from the court or the Biden administration, that will protect Title X patients, physicians, providers, and the health of the nation from further irreparable harm imposed by the current rule.”