Statement from Essential Access Health on Today’s 9th Circuit Title X Order

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2019
Contact: Amy Moy, 415.518.4465

Statement by Essential Access Health President and CEO, Julie Rabinovitz:

“Today’s Court order completely disregards the irreparable harm the regulations pose to millions of patients who depend on the Title X family planning program for essential health care,” said Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health. “Although the order is a setback, this is still the beginning of a long judicial process and our focus has not changed. We are committed to doing everything possible to block these harmful and unlawful regulations from taking effect and to ensuring that patients served by Title X can receive quality, evidence-based health services.”

If implemented, the Trump regulations 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

Title X funding in California supports the delivery of essential health services including birth control, STD and pregnancy tests, and cancer screenings at over 360 health centers in 38 of California’s 58 counties. 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.

Essential Access Health’s lawsuit 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
July 4, 2019 -- 9th Circuit Court of Appeals grants Motion for En Banc Reconsideration and reinstates preliminary injunctions
July 11, 2019 – 9th Circuit En Banc panel releases order clarifying preliminary injunctions are not in place as the reconsideration process moves forward.

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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.