Time for some more Democratic Checks and Balances!
Under the new rule, posted Friday by the federal Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs, any organization that provides or refers patients for abortions is ineligible for Title X funding to cover STD prevention, cancer screenings and contraception. Federal funding for abortion already is illegal in most cases.
The rule, first proposed last year, has been popular with President Trump's socially conservative base.
Abortion-rights supporters have criticized the regulation as a "gag rule" that will prevent doctors from speaking openly with pregnant women about options including abortion.
Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood, recently told NPR that withholding information about abortion from Title X patients would violate medical ethics. "As a doctor, this compromises the oath that I took to serve my patients and help them with making the best decision for their own health,"
"My patients expect me to speak honestly with them, to answer their questions, to help them in their time of need. It's unconscionable and unethical for politicians to restrict doctors like me from speaking honestly to our patients."
Reproductive rights groups are expected to fight the regulations in court.
Republicans and LIFE AFTER BIRTH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
