Supreme Court allows Biden administration to withhold family planning funds to Oklahoma over abortion dispute
The administration refused to disburse family planning funds over Oklahoma's opposition to giving patients access to information about abortion.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Biden administration to refuse to disburse federal family planning funds to Oklahoma in an abortion-related dispute.
The administration has sought to withhold the funds because Oklahoma refused to provide patients with a hotline number that could provide neutral information about abortion.
The brief court order rejecting an emergency application filed by the state noted that three of the six conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — disagreed with the outcome. The court did not explain the reasoning behind its decision.
Under the federal family planning law in question, known as Title X, the state funding cannot be used for abortion. But the Biden administration argues that it does not prohibit the government from requiring providers to ensure patients have access to relevant information.
When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration issued a regulation similar to rules issued by previous administrations that required states to offer factual information to pregnant patients on issues like prenatal care, adoption and abortion.
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