District Court Judge in Washington State Issues Nationwide Injunction to Block Trump Administration’s Harmful Title X Restrictions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2019
Contact: Amy Moy, 415.518.4465
Today, Judge Stanley Bastian announced from the bench that he will grant a nationwide preliminary injunction to block implementation of new restrictions on the federal Title X family planning program. The regulations were scheduled to take effect May 3. The motion for preliminary injunction was filed in the Eastern District Court of Washington State by the State of Washington and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), represented by the ACLU. Essential Access Health and members of our Title X provider network in California – the largest and most diverse Title X system in the country - are protected under this decision, which takes effect immediately.
Statement by Essential Access Health President and CEO, Julie Rabinovitz:
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the 4,000,000 patients served by the Title X program across the country each year,” said Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health. “Judge Bastian’s decision sends a strong and clear message – the federal government cannot dictate a lower standard of care for low-income patients, or deny women access to the comprehensive services and information they want and need.”
Essential Access Health has been a Title X grantee for the state of California since the program was established in 1970. Title X funding in California supports the delivery of essential health services including birth control, STD and pregnancy tests, and cancer screenings for 1,000,000 low-income patients served at over 350 health centers in 38 of California’s 58 counties each year.
Essential Access Health’s motion for preliminary injunction (PDF) was heard in the Northern District Court of California before Judge Edward Chen on April 18. A decision in that case is still pending.
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Essential Access Health (Essential Access) champions and promotes quality sexual and reproductive health care for all. Essential Access achieves its mission through an umbrella of programs and services, including health center support initiatives, provider training, advanced clinical research, public policy and outreach, and awareness campaigns. As the administrator of the nation’s largest and most diverse Title X system in the country, Essential Access partners with a robust provider network that collectively serves 1,000,000 low-income Californians each year at more than 350 health centers across the state.