ABORTION/COURTS/FEDERAL FUNDING/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A lack of clear guidance from the Trump administration on its imminent overhaul of the federal family planning program has left states and health providers scrambling to figure out the rules — even as legal challenges cast doubt on when and whether the change will take effect. Revisions to the Title X program could force providers to reconfigure clinics, retrain staffs, create new financial systems and make other adjustments to qualify for more than $250 million in annual program grants to serve low-income women. The fate of the new rules became more uncertain late Tuesday [4-23-19], when a federal judge in Oregon said he will issue an injunction freezing them while lawsuits brought by blue states and family planning groups proceed. Providers across the country are waiting to hear if that ruling will apply nationwide or only in certain states…Already, some health agencies in states suing over the rules — including Oregon and Washington — as well as Planned Parenthood have vowed to exit Title X over the changes, which include stripping program funding from providers that make abortion referrals. Some major provisions of the rule would go into effect May 3 if they aren’t frozen by courts.”
–Alice Miranda Ollstein and Rachl Roubein, “Uncertainty over Trump abortion rule leaves states, clinics in limbo,” Politico, April 25, 2019 3:40 pm