WASHINGTON (CN) — Oklahoma asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for emergency relief to restore millions in federal funds pulled by the Biden administration over state restrictions on abortion.
The Department of Health and Human Services revoked Oklahoma’s Title X funds — covering reproductive health care for low-income and rural communities — because the state health department refused to give patients information on abortion.
Title X recipients must give patients neutral, factual information on all pregnancy options, including referrals or counseling for abortion care. Oklahoma implemented a complete ban on abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making advising or procuring an abortion for any woman a felony.
The Oklahoma Legislature ordered the state health department to develop and distribute educational information to achieve an abortion-fee society. The department said it could not comply with Title X in light of lawmakers’ charge.
In May 2023, the federal government informed the Oklahoma Department of Health that it was out of compliance with the terms and conditions of Title X’s funding grants. The Department of Health and Human Services reallocated Oklahoma's $4.5 million in funding to different health providers.
Oklahoma sued to prevent losing its 2024 grants. The state claims that the Biden administration violated the Constitution’s spending clause by conditioning funding for treatments not required by Title X.
“HHS deliberately sought to impose the executive branch’s policy preferences on the states, including Oklahoma, and upset the federal-state balance on this important issue,” the state wrote in its application. “The lack of clear notice by Congress of any requirement to offer abortion referrals renders HHS’s termination of Oklahoma’s Title X funding violative of the Spending Clause. Oklahoma has an indisputably clear right to relief.”
The state’s argument cites the court’s 1991 ruling Rust v. Sullivan that found Title X was ambiguous regarding abortion counseling. At the time, the government wanted to prohibit funding for abortion care, but the policy tends to change depending on which party holds the White House.
Oklahoma said the abortion counseling requirement violates the Weldon Amendment, which bars the government from discriminating against healthcare entities.
Two lower courts denied Oklahoma’s injunction requests that would prevent the government from excluding the state from its 2024 Title X grants. As a last resort, Oklahoma appealed for emergency relief from the high court.
Health and Human Services agreed to refrain from distributing funds until Aug. 30. Oklahoma said the justices needed to act before the deadline to prevent irreparable harm.
“Once this funding is distributed, Oklahoma will not likely be able to recoup the funds as monetary damages due to sovereign immunity as there is no way for Oklahoma or the federal government to claw back distributions from entities that received funding,” the state wrote.
The Sixth Circuit reviewed a similar case from Tennessee last month.
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