Biden rolls back Trump's anti-abortion curbs on family planning funds

The proposed overhaul erases restrictions on abortion providers that Democrats derided as a "gag rule."

By ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN

04/14/2021 09:46 AM EDT

The Biden administration on Wednesday moved to unwind former President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion restrictions on federal family planning funds.

New rules proposed Wednesday would largely return the Title X program to its pre-Trump formation, allowing more abortion clinics to participate in a program that provides free or subsidized contraception and other health services to about 4 million low-income Americans each year.

The move stems from a pledge President Joe Biden made as a candidate, followed by an executive order he signed shortly after taking office directing HHS to review the Trump administration’s Title X rule. At the time, he pledged to “reverse my predecessor’s attack on women’s health access” and “undo the damage that Trump has done.”

Trump’s changes to the program, which took effect in 2019, barred family planning dollars to abortion providers and those who referred patients for the procedure. Democrats and abortion rights groups said the policy amounted to a "gag rule," while anti-abortion groups aligned with the previous administration said federal funding should never go to abortion providers, though longstanding rules already bar federal funding for abortion except in rare cases.

more
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/14/biden-trump-anti-abortion-family-planning-481395