The Trump administration issued a final rule on Friday that could cost Planned Parenthood tens of millions in federal funding, in a move Politico called "another major policy win for social conservatives looking to prohibit access to abortion."

What are the details?

The Department of Health and Human Services put forth a revision of the Title X family planning program, which states that no funds appropriated to the program "may be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning and related statutory requirements."

A fact sheet from the agency explained that the rule "prohibits the use of Title X funds to perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning." It also prohibits health care providers from performing or referring patients to have abortions at the same facility receiving Title X dollars, regardless of the funding source.

While the new rule does not entirely strip Planned Parenthood of its funding, according to Politico, the organization receives somewhere between $50 million and $60 million annually from Title X.

ABC News reported that the proposal is considered a so-called "gag rule" by pro-choice advocates, saying "it's the most concrete step that the administration has taken to limit abortion access since President Trump's inauguration.

Opponents have already vowed to sue in federal court to stop the measure, which goes into effect 60 days after being published in the federal register.

How did Planned Parenthood respond?

Planned Parenthood lashed out against the rule on Twitter, saying "the administration has put health care providers in the Title X program in an impossible position: withhold information from its patients or get pushed out of the program."

The organization claims "thousands of people will be left with nowhere to turn for health care" because of the decision.



