Supreme Court won't allow Oklahoma to reclaim federal money in dispute over abortion referrals
Supreme Court won't allow Oklahoma to reclaim federal money in dispute over abortion referrals
The Supreme Court has rejected Oklahoma’s emergency appeal seeking to restore a $4.5 million grant for family planning services in an ongoing dispute over the state’s refusal to refer pregnant women to a nationwide hotline that provides information about abortion and other options.
Oklahoma argues that it can’t comply with a requirement to provide abortion counseling and referrals because the state’s abortion ban makes it a crime for “any person to advise or procure an abortion for any woman.”
The administration said it offered an accommodation that would allow referrals to the national hotline, but the state rejected that as insufficient. The federal government then cut off the state’s Title X funds.
In 2021, the Biden administration reversed a ban on abortion referrals by clinics that accept Title X funds. The restriction was initially enacted during the Donald Trump administration in 2019, but the policy has swung back and forth for years, depending upon who is in the White House.