
Essential Access Health v. Azar
Our Fight to #SaveTitleX
As the leader of the largest and most diverse Title X system in the country, Essential Access Health filed a lawsuit in federal court in 2019 to block the Trump administration’s Title X regulations from taking effect.
What’s the Latest News?
Essential Access Health filed a cert petition to the United States Supreme Court, requesting review of challenges filed to halt implementation of the Trump administration’s Title X regulations that received split decisions in the lower courts. The American Medical Association, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association and the ACLU also joined the petition. If four of the nine Justices agree to hear the challenge, they will issue a writ of certiorari. This is a legal order from the high court for the lower courts to send the records of the case to them for review. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently upheld a district court ruling released in February, blocking implementation of the Trump administration's Title X regulations in the state of Maryland. The appellate court affirmed the lower court's judgement that the new Title X rules violate the Administrative Procedures Act, but declined to vacate the Title X regulations nationwide. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Essential Access Health’s request to reconsider a panel decision that upheld the regulations in their entirety. Essential Access is committed to ensuring that Title X patients across the country can receive the comprehensive family planning services they want, when they need them. Learn more from our press release.
- The Fight to #SaveTitleX - A Timeline
- About the Trump Administration’s Title X Regulations
- About Title X in California
- Resources + Information
- For the Media
The Fight to #SaveTitleX – A Timeline
- May 22, 2018 – The United States Department of Health and Human Services released proposed Title X regulations that introduced some of the most sweeping and extreme changes in the history of the program
- July 30, 2018 – Essential Access Health submitted public comments outlining the harms the proposed regulations would cause in California and across the country
- February 22, 2019 – Final Title X regulations released on the Office of Population Affairs website
- March 4, 2019 – Final regulations officially published in the Federal Register; Essential Access Health v. Azar, et al filed in federal court
- March 21, 2019 – Essential Access Health filed preliminary injunction motion
- April 18, 2019 – Oral arguments presented in preliminary injunction hearing
- April 26, 2019 – Preliminary injunction granted
- May 3, 2019 – Date regulations were scheduled to take effect
- June 20, 2019 – Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals motions panel lifts preliminary injunction
- July 3, 2019 – The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted emergency motion for re-hearing
- July 11, 2019 – En banc panel of Ninth Circuit judges denied the request to restore the preliminary injunction that had been set aside by the motions panel’s stay while the rehearing process moved forward
- July 26, 2019 – Planned Parenthood Federation of America, joined by litigation partners including the American Medical Association and National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, file a petition requesting full 9th Circuit reconsideration of the en banc panel’s July 11 order
- September, 23, 2019 – En banc panel of 9th Circuit judges heard oral arguments on the request for reconsideration of the June 20 motion’s panel’s decision lifting the preliminary injunction
- February 20, 2020 – Hearing in Federal District Court on Essential Access Health’s motion for summary judgment
- February 24, 2020 – 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued
- April 9, 2020 – Essential Access Health joined a petition to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to request full court reconsideration of the en banc panel decision released in February
- May 8, 2020 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied Essential Access Health’s request for the full court to reconsider the panel decision released in February that upheld the Trump administration’s Title X regulations in their entirety.
- September 3, 2020 – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld a district court ruling striking down the Title X regulations in Maryland, but declined to block implementation nationwide
- October 1, 2020 – Essential Access Health and a coalition of litigation partners filed a cert petition to the United States Supreme Court, urging the Court to review split decisions handed down by the lower courts
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About the Trump Administration’s Title X Regulations
On March 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published new regulations for the federal Title X program in the Federal Register. The regulations prohibit health providers from offering Title X patients complete and unbiased information about all of their pregnancy options, including referrals for abortion services, even if a patient asks for the information. Learn more in the links below.
- KFF Brief: New Title X Regulations: Implications for Women and Family Planning Providers
- Guttmacher Institute’s Comprehensive Guide to Proposed Changes to Title X
- NFPRHA Fact Sheet: Impact of New Title X Regulations
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About Title X in California
The Title X federal family planning program was established by Congress in 1970 with bi-partisan support. In California, Title X funding supports the delivery of quality sexual and reproductive services such as birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment and other preventive services. Title X has played a significant role in reducing unintended pregnancies to their lowest levels in 30 years.
Essential Access Health leads the largest and most comprehensive Title X system in the country and has served as the lead Title X grantee in the state of California for 50 years. Our statewide Title X network includes comprehensive family planning service providers, STD prevention partners, and faith and community based outreach and education partners that collectively served over 600,000 low-income Californians in 23 counties in 2019. Learn more about Title X in California.
For further context, you can download a comparison map of Title X-funded family planning providers before and after the new regulations took effect.
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Resources + Information
- Essential Access Health et al Supreme Court Cert Petition Reply Brief
- Cert Petition filed to the Supreme Court
- Essential Access Health v Azar - Petition for Full Court of Limited En Banc Rehearing of Court's February 24, 2020 Opinion
- Essential Access Health v Azar - Motion for Summary Judgment
- Essential Access Health v Azar - Petition for Rehearing En Banc
- Essential Access Health v Azar - Motion for En Banc Reconsideration
- Essential Access Health v Azar - Statement on Ninth Circuit Motions Panel Decision (lifting the preliminary injunction)
- Essential Access Health v Azar – Preliminary Injunction Decision (blocking Title X regulations from taking effect in California)
- Essential Access Health v Azar – Preliminary Injunction Motion
- Essential Access Health v. Azar Complaint
- KFF Brief: New Title X Regulations: Implications for Women and Family Planning Providers
- Guttmacher Institute’s Comprehensive Guide to Proposed Changes to Title X
- NFPRHA Fact Sheet: Title X's Role in California (PDF)
Contact us to receive additional information and materials.
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For the Media
- 10.1.20: Press release regarding Cert Petition filed to the Supreme Court to halt implementation of the Trump administration’s Title X regulations nationwide
- 4.9.2020: Statement regarding request for full 9th Circuit reconsideration of Title X decision
- 2.24.2020: Statement on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ devastating decision for Title X patients nationwide
- 2.20.2020: Statement following Motion for Summary Judgment Hearing in District Court in San Francisco
- 2.14.2020: Statement on District Court Judge enjoining Title X regulations in Maryland
- 9.23.2019: Statement after oral arguments before en banc panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
- 7.15.2019: Statement Regarding Implementation of Title X Regulations
- 6.20.2019: Statement on Title X Court Decision Lifting Preliminary Injunction
- 4.29.2019: Press Release regarding preliminary injunction to block Title X regulations in California
- 4.18.2019: Essential Access Health’s media advisory for April 18th preliminary injunction hearing
- 3.28.2019: Press release applauding the CA State Senate for taking action to #SaveTitleX
- 3.22.2019: Press release on filing a preliminary injunction motion to block harmful and unlawful Title X regulations from taking effect.
- 3.04.2019: Press release on our legal challenge to block Title X regulations from taking effect.
- 2.28.2019: Essential Access Health’s statement on how the changes could impact Title X in California
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