Women's Issues

HHS Postpones Enforcement Of New Abortion Restrictions

The regulation would bar taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions.

HHS Postpones Enforcement Of New Abortion Restrictions
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SMS

The Trump administration is putting the brakes on its new regulation that bars taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the decision Saturday evening, according to several reports published over the weekend. The agency told clinics they now have two months to comply with the new rules.

Last week, HHS said it would start enforcing the rules immediately. Those rules also require clinics to keep their finances separate from facilities that perform abortions.

This and other controversial changes to the Title X family planning program are currently facing legal challenges from Planned Parenthood and other groups looking to overturn them. But HHS said there are no judicial orders stopping it from enforcing the rules while that litigation makes its way through the courts.