A federal judge in Maine has ruled that the Trump Administration can implement the Protect Life Rule, which prohibits abortion vendors like Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X family planning funds. The ruling adds to a number of decisions across the country, both for and against, the Protect Life Rule. The Supreme Court has previously ruled on this issue in Rust v. Sullivan.
Bangor Daily News reports, “A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to the Trump administration’s so-called ‘gag rule’ [gag rule is a Planned Parenthood provided phrases] that allegedly limits what federally funded health care providers can tell patients about accessing abortion services.
Maine Family Planning, the state’s only direct recipient of the federal Title X funds, in March 2019 sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as did similar organizations around the country, in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Family planning providers claimed the rule violated the free speech clause of the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
While the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal dollars from directly paying for abortions, it does not stop abortion vendors like Planned Parenthood from using federal dollars from Title X money to underwrite their abortion business.
Bangor Daily News notes, “Appeals are pending in court throughout the country as the issue makes its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In February, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the rule in a 7-4 ruling, according to Reuters. The seven judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents, including two by Donald Trump. The dissenters were appointed by Democratic presidents.”
