NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected the state of Tennessee’s attempt to raise millions of dollars in family planning funds without following federal rules that require clinics to issue abortion permits based on his current ban on the procedure.
Last year, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a Federal complaint with the aim of repealing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to exclude the state from receiving funds from a family planning program known as Title X. A lower court later ruled that Tennessee was unlikely to succeed, and the state appealed that decision.
In 2021, the Biden administration announced that clinics accepting Title X funds would be required to offer information about abortion. But Skrmetti argued that HHS had not informed officials how the rule would apply in states where abortion bans are now permitted following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argued in a ruling Monday that Tennessee cannot use its abortion ban law to dictate “eligibility requirements” for Title X funding. The 31-page ruling means the federal government will not reinstate Tennessee’s Title X funding while the litigation plays out in court.
In addition, the appeals court stated that the state was not obligated to accept the money, noting that the Tennessee State Legislature had approved replacing the lost federal funds with state funds.
“Tennessee was free to voluntarily waive the grants for any reason, including if the state concluded that the requirements would violate its state laws,” the decision states.
A spokesman for Skrmetti’s office said they were “reviewing the statement and considering next steps.”
The state of Tennessee has been a recipient of funds since the program was established in 1970. Most recently, it has raised approximately $7.1 million annually to support nearly 100 clinics in providing contraception and basic health care to primarily low-income women, many of whom are from minority communities.
Under the latest rule, clinics are not allowed to use federal funds from the U.S. Family Planning Fund to pay for abortions, but they must provide patients with information about abortion upon request.
Tennessee bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, but makes some narrow exceptions.
In March 2023, HHS informed Tennessee health officials that the state was no longer in violation of Title X because its policy prohibits clinics from providing information about abortions that are not legal in the state—effectively prohibiting any discussion of elective abortions. The state defended its policy and refused to back down, prompting the federal government to declare that continued funding of Tennessee’s Title X funds was “not in the best interest of the government.”
HHS later announced that most of Tennessee’s Title X funds would go to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider, which would distribute the money to its Tennessee clinics.
“Millions of people across the country rely on basic health care — like contraception, STI screening and treatment, cancer screenings, and other critical sexual and reproductive health services — funded through Title X,” Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said in a statement. “The state’s decision not to follow All Options counseling is politics with our bodies.”
