Oklahoma is seeking an order from the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the Biden Administration from denying the federal family planning money it lost last year. The state’s Title X funding went to different entities after it refused to meet one of the grant’s requirements to provide counseling to pregnant people on all options, including abortion if a patient requests it.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond challenged the state’s loss of $4.5 million in Title X funding with a lawsuit and, later, a motion for an injunction against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Clinics participating in Title X programs offer confidential and low-cost family planning resources for all ages, including contraceptives, counseling and pregnancy testing. The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) had received Title X funding since 1971.
When the motion failed in the district court, Drummond appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, but it rejected the state’s arguments.
Now, Oklahoma is seeking relief from the Supreme Court in an emergency application sent to Justice Neil Gorsuch — who oversees emergency state matters — last week.
Phil Bacharach, Drummond's communications director, said in an email to StateImpact the attorney general appreciates the court’s consideration and hopes the justices see the case as “a clear example of federal overreach.”
The federal government is giving the court until Aug. 30 to issue a stay on HHS’s distribution of Oklahoma’s 2024 funding to other entities.
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