Press Releases
04/25/2019
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED IN TITLE X GAG RULE
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement today after a federal judge in Washington issued a preliminary injunction Thursday temporarily blocking the Trump administration from applying an unconstitutional "gag rule" on Title X reproductive health providers.
"This preliminary injunction is a significant win, but the fight to protect reproductive healthcare is far from over. The Trump Administration's proposed gag rule is an unlawful ploy to insert partisan politics into the relationship between a woman and her doctor. The stakes in Connecticut are immense—directly threatening access to healthcare for over 45,000 Title X patients. We continue to stand with our partner states across the nation in vigorously defending access to care," said Attorney General William Tong.
Last month, Connecticut joined a coalition of 21 states in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Title X domestic gag rule. The rule relates to funding for Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning programs to help patients access contraception, breast and cervical cancer screenings, well-woman exams, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and other related health services. The rule will significantly restrict access to reproductive health services and information for women and families. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon and led by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The complaint can be found here.
The injunction was granted Thursday by a federal judge in Washington in a separate lawsuit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.
Over 45,000 patients are currently served by clinics in Connecticut operated by Planned Parenthood of Southern New England and Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center receiving $2.5 million in Title X funding. If those clinics close or are forced to withdraw from Title X, other health care providers in Connecticut would need to more than triple their reproductive care client caseloads to meet the demand—an increase not feasible with existing funding and staffing levels at other clinics.
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