PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A reproductive rights organization announced Wednesday that it is filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Maine health care provider in an attempt to block new rules for family planning grants backed by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new rules last week to prohibit family planning clinics funded by the federal Title X program from making abortion referrals. The New York City-based Center for Reproductive Rights said it’s filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Maine against the rules on behalf of Maine Family Planning, which is the largest reproductive health care organization in the state.
The new rules could cause all but one of its 18 clinics in the state to cease performing abortions, said George Hill, president and chief executive officer of Maine Family Planning. That’s because the new rules require “clear financial and physical separation” between Title X funded projects and facilities where abortions are performed, he said.
The organization and the center derided the rules as a “gag rule” designed to cut off access to abortion itself.
“This would present insurmountable hurdles to some Mainers, pushing care out of reach altogether,” Hill said, adding that the rules threaten “the very existence” of the group’s clinics.
Title X was enacted almost 50 years ago to make family planning services available to low-income residents.
The American Medical Association and Planned Parenthood also challenged the new rules with a lawsuit earlier this week. Representatives for Planned Parenthood said the organization would leave the Title X program if the rule is implemented. Officials in more than 20 states have sued to challenge the rules.
The Department of Health and Human Services has said the rule change “makes notable improvements designed to increase the number of patients served and improve their quality of care.” Parts of the rule take effect on May 3. The department has said Title X serves about 4 million people every year.
Emily Nestler, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights and the lead attorney on the case, said the rules could be especially burdensome in Maine because Maine Family Planning is an independent provider that doesn’t have the benefit of a national support system.
She and others said that lack of access to Title X funding would be devastating for Maine Family Planning, and that would in turn place a burden on people who rely on the organization for health care needs in the mostly rural state.
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This story has been corrected to remove a reference to the Center for Reproduction Rights. The correct name of the organization is Center for Reproductive Rights.
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