Twenty-three mostly Democratic-led US states have sued the Donald Trump administration, seeking to block new conditions attached to federal funding for family-planning services for low-income and uninsured Americans.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday at a federal court in Maryland, challenges changes to the Title X programme, which provides about $286 million annually for family planning and related healthcare services.
The states argue that the new conditions unlawfully punish healthcare providers and states that refuse to align with the administration’s political priorities, including discouraging contraception and providing gender-affirming care to transgender people.
The lawsuit is led by New York, Maryland and Massachusetts, with California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia among the other states involved.
The states warned that losing Title X funding could have serious consequences for healthcare providers and patients who depend on the services.
In New York, for instance, the funding supports 165 clinics that have served more than 250,000 mostly low-income patients, according to the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Title X was established in 1970 to fund family-planning and related health services, including cancer screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Federal law prohibits Title X funds from being used to pay for abortion services.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which administers the programme, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
States challenge Trump administration’s conditions
HHS announced in April that, for the first time, applicants seeking Title X funding would have to ensure their programmes align with the administration’s political priorities.
Among the requirements are the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, recognition of male and female as the only two sexes, and the promotion of abstinence and “natural family planning” instead of contraception.
The policy was amended last month.
The states argue that the new requirements conflict with the federal law establishing Title X, which requires providers to offer a broad range of counselling and prohibits discrimination against patients.
They also accused the Trump administration of introducing the policy without following the formal rulemaking process required under federal law.
That process typically requires the government to publish a proposed rule and allow members of the public to submit comments before it is finalised.
Planned Parenthood also in court
The latest lawsuit follows a similar legal challenge by Planned Parenthood, which operates dozens of clinics that depend on Title X funding.
The organisation sued HHS last month, arguing that the changes to the programme were ideologically driven and unlawful.
That case is pending before a federal court in Washington, D.C.
The legal challenges could determine whether the Trump administration can impose political and ideological conditions on states and healthcare providers seeking access to the federal government’s $286 million annual family-planning programme.
