Federal Judge Blocks President Trump's Abortion Rule Cutting $60 Million to Planned Parenthood

Martin M. Barillas : Apr 25, 2019
Lifesitenews.com

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(Portland, OR) — [Lifesitenews.com] A federal judge has announced he will block the Trump administration policy prohibiting federal funding to contraception providers that offer abortions or refer patients to abortion providers. (Image: via LifeSiteNews)

On Tuesday, US District Judge Michael J. McShane criticized President Trump's changes to the Title X program, announced in March and set to take effect May 3, as a "ham-fisted approach to public health policy.''

The judge, based in Portland, Oregon, said that he will soon issue an opinion granting a preliminary injunction against the changes, which abortion proponents have dubbed a "gag rule."

Oregon has joined 20 states and the District of Columbia in asking the courts to strike down the changes. Planned Parenthood affiliates and the American Medical Association are also parties to the suit.

While the plaintiffs have sought a national injunction, Judge McShane said he did not want to set "national health care'' policy. The US Justice Department had asked that any injunction should apply only to the plaintiffs in this particular case because there are at least four other similar suits pending in other states.

McShane said that the Trump administration policy would hamper services provided by physicians. He also claimed that it would mean that low-income women would not have a full range of access to abortion and create a "geographic vacuum'' in abortion and contraceptive providers. He also said that it would mean an increase in abortion because of an increase in pregnancies.

"At the heart of these rules is an arrogant assumption that the government is better suited to direct women's health care than their providers," he said, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

In addition, McShane said he will issue a separate preliminary injunction to stop the so-called "separation'' rule that prohibits taxpayer-funded "family planning clinics" from being located under the same roof as abortion providers. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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