9th Circuit Court Decision Halts Implementation of Harmful Changes to Title X Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2019
Contact: Amy Moy, 415.518.4465
Statement by Julie Rabinovitz on today’s decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate preliminary injunctions blocking implementation of the Trump administration’s harmful and unlawful Title X regulations.
Today the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Essential Access Health’s Motion for En Banc Reconsideration. The “grant of rehearing en banc” effectively vacates a 3-judge panel ruling and reinstates the preliminary injunction that blocked implementation of the Title X regulations in California, while the ruling is reconsidered by a larger panel of eleven 9th Circuit judges.
“Today’s decision by the 9th Circuit Court puts us back on course to block these harmful and unlawful regulations from taking effect,” said Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health. “Although we are heartened that the injunctions were reinstated, this is still the beginning of a long judicial process. Essential Access Health remains committed to doing everything we can to protect access to quality family planning services and comprehensive information for millions of low-income patients who depend on the Title X program for care.”
On June 20, a panel of three 9th Circuit judges had previously granted the U.S. Department Justice’s request to lift the preliminary injunctions in place against the Trump administration’s Title X regulations.
Similar motions for en banc reconsideration filed in cases in Washington State and Oregon were also granted, blocking the rules from taking effect nationwide.
If implemented, the regulation changes threaten to drastically reduce access to quality sexual and reproductive health care and disproportionately affect low-income women, rural regions, and communities of color. The changes would prevent health providers in the Title X network from offering their patients full information about all of their pregnancy options.
Background
Essential Access Health leads the largest and most comprehensive Title X system in the nation and 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 patients collectively served at more than 360 health centers in 38 of California’s 58 counties.
Essential Access Health’s lawsuit, Essential Access Health v. Azar, includes co-plaintiff Dr. Melissa Marshall, a family medicine doctor practicing at a Title X-funded health center in Yolo County, California. Essential Access Health and Dr. Marshall are represented by a team at the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, led by Michelle Ybarra.
Case 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 – 9th Circuit Court of Appeals motions panel lifts preliminary injunction
- June 26, 2019 – Essential Access Health files Motion for En Banc Reconsideration of the 9th Circuit panel’s order
- July 3, 2019 – 9th Circuit Court of Appeals grants Motion for En Banc Reconsideration and reinstates preliminary injunctions
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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 360 health centers across the state.