The United States Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration can withhold $4.5 million in federal funding for family planning amid legal challenges involving Oklahoma’s abortion regulations.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services terminated the funding after Oklahoma refused to provide abortion referrals. The Biden administration contends that state and non-profits receiving federal funding are mandated to give abortion referrals under Title X of the Public Health Services Act.
The Supreme Court Rejected Oklahoma’s emergency application. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch disagreed with the majority. The court did not issue an explanation, per NBC News.
Abortion has been almost entirely banned in Oklahoma since the nation’s highest court overturned 1973’s Roe v. Wade in 2022. The state grants an exception to save the life of the mother. Attorney General Gentner Drummond noted that state law does not allow for pregnant women who seek an abortion to be prosecuted.
In 2021, the federal government enacted a rule requiring Oklahoma to offer referrals that include factual information as well as contact information for abortion providers. Those with religious objections are exempt from the requirement. After the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, the state refused to comply, and HHS terminated the multi-million family planning grant.
Oklahoma sued the Biden administration in hopes of having the funding reinstated in 2024. A district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit both denied the state’s request for relief – prompting Oklahoma to appeal to the Supreme Court on Aug. 5.
“The state argued first that requiring family-planning projects to provide counseling and referrals for abortion violates the Constitution’s spending clause, which gives Congress the power to impose and collect taxes,” reports SCOTUS Blog. “Title X, the state contended, does not provide the kind of clear and unambiguous notice of those requirements that the Supreme Court has said is required when Congress is acting under its spending clause power.”
Oklahoma also argued that HHS is barred from providing funding to state or federal agencies that discriminate against healthcare providers who do not provide abortion referrals under the Weldon Amendment.
The Weldon Amendment has been frequently denounced by pro-abortion groups since its passage in 2005.
“The Weldon Amendment allows personal beliefs, not patient health and the standard of care, to determine the care a patient receives,” stated the National Women’s Law Center in May of 2023. “It really allows health care providers to discriminate against patients by denying them the care they need. There are no provisions in the Weldon Amendment to protect patient access to abortion services.”