Spokane, Wash., Apr 26, 2019 / 14:00 pm
A federal judge in Washington state issued a nationwide preliminary injunction April 25, blocking a rule which would deny government funding to health clinics co-locating with abortion facilities. The ruling comes just days before the Protect Life Rule was due to go into effect.
U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Bastian in the Eastern District of Washington state ruled Thursday that the Protect Life Rule represented "no public interest" and that the Department of Health and Human Services acted unlawfully in pursuing the policy. The suit was brought by the state of Washington.
The Protect Life Rule prohibits the distribution of Title X family planning funds to clinics that are co-located with facilities that perform abortions.
Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, was set to lose about $60 million in federal funding due to the rule change. Planned Parenthood receives about half a billion dollars in federal funds each year, including money from Title X.