Appeals court spikes Tennessee’s bid to get family planning dollars despite abortion rule

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A federal appeals court has rejected Tennessee’s attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals because the current ban on the procedure.

Last year, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a request federal complaint for quashing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to disqualify the state from receiving money offered through a family planning program known as Title X. A lower court later ruled that Tennessee was unlikely to succeed, and the state appealed that decision.

In 2021, the Biden administration announced that clinics that accept Title X funds would be required to offer information about abortion. However, Skrmetti argued that HHS officials failed to warn how the rule would apply in states with abortion bans now allowed under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Still, the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals argued in a ruling Monday that Tennessee could not use its abortion ban law to “dictate eligibility requirements” for Title X funding. The 31-page ruling means the federal government will not restore Tennessee’s Title X funding while the lawsuit moves through the courts.

Additionally, the appeals court ruled that the state was not obligated to accept the money, noting that the Tennessee Legislature had agreed to replace the lost federal dollars with state funding.

“Tennessee was free to voluntarily give up the subsidies for any reason, particularly if it determined that the requirements would conflict with state law,” the ruling said.

A spokesperson for Skrmetti’s office said they were “reviewing the opinion and considering next steps.”

Tennessee has received support from the program since its inception in 1970 and has recently raised approximately $7.1 million annually to help nearly 100 clinics provide birth control and basic health care, primarily to low-income women, many of whom come from minority communities.

Under the latest regulations, clinics are not allowed to use federal family planning funds to pay for abortions, but they must provide information about abortions upon patient request.

In Tennessee, abortion is illegal at all stages of pregnancy, but there are some exceptions.

In March 2023, HHS informed Tennessee health officials that the state was no longer in compliance with Title X due to a policy that prohibited clinics from providing information about termination options that were not legal in the state, effectively banning all discussions about elective abortions. The state defended its policy and refused to budge, leading the federal government to declare that continuing Tennessee’s Title X money was “not in the best interest of the government.”

HHS later announced that Tennessee’s Title X funds would go largely to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of abortions in the United States. Planned Parenthood would then distribute the money to its Tennessee clinics.