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Biden begins to undo Trump's ban on abortion referrals
Source: Associated Press
Biden begins to undo Trump’s ban on abortion referrals
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
April 14, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy directive that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.
The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services follows through on President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to reverse his predecessor’s family planning policy, branded a “gag rule” by women’s groups and decried by medical associations as violating the doctor-patient relationship.
The 2019 Trump administration policy “abandoned (a) client centered approach over the objection of every major medical organization without any countervailing public health rationale,” HHS wrote in the Biden proposal. “That approach cannot be squared with well-accepted public health principles.”
However, the Biden administration stopped short of immediately suspending the Trump regulation, an additional step that some abortion rights advocates had sought. The Trump policy will remain in effect until it is formally superseded by the Biden rule, a process that can take months. Biden administration officials believe that exercising restraint now will increase the odds of the changes ultimately being upheld in court.
Known as Title X, the federal family planning program has been in place for decades. It makes available about $286 million annually in grants that support clinics serving mainly low-income women. Those clinics, which provide birth control and basic health care services such as cancer screenings, have been whipsawed by Trump-era battles over ideology and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health services providers. Before exiting the program in 2019, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates served an estimated 40% of the patients.
-snip-
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
April 14, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday began to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy directive that drove Planned Parenthood from the federal family planning program and created new complications for women trying to get birth control.
The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services follows through on President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to reverse his predecessor’s family planning policy, branded a “gag rule” by women’s groups and decried by medical associations as violating the doctor-patient relationship.
The 2019 Trump administration policy “abandoned (a) client centered approach over the objection of every major medical organization without any countervailing public health rationale,” HHS wrote in the Biden proposal. “That approach cannot be squared with well-accepted public health principles.”
However, the Biden administration stopped short of immediately suspending the Trump regulation, an additional step that some abortion rights advocates had sought. The Trump policy will remain in effect until it is formally superseded by the Biden rule, a process that can take months. Biden administration officials believe that exercising restraint now will increase the odds of the changes ultimately being upheld in court.
Known as Title X, the federal family planning program has been in place for decades. It makes available about $286 million annually in grants that support clinics serving mainly low-income women. Those clinics, which provide birth control and basic health care services such as cancer screenings, have been whipsawed by Trump-era battles over ideology and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on health services providers. Before exiting the program in 2019, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates served an estimated 40% of the patients.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-politics-birth-control-abortion-coronavirus-pandemic-eade03afcaeed23a900058d2eae1629f