The Biden administration has restored the federal family planning programme where the clinics can refer women seeking abortions to a provider. The move comes following huge protests took place in Texas and many other parts of the country to lift the ban introduced by the then President Donald Trump. The programme was there under the rule of President Barack Obama, but Trump was putting a ban to the programme as he took power.
Known as Title X, the taxpayer-funded programme makes available more than 250 million dollars a year to clinics to provide birth control and basic healthcare services mainly to low-income women. Following Trump’s ban on the programme, many clinics were run out of business. Huge protests took place and many women’s groups also came against Trump but he didn’t lift the ban all along his Presidency.
The move by the Republican President was also criticized as a violation of clinician- patient relationship. But he had got support from religious and conservatives.
In 2018, the family planning clinics served about 3.9 million clients, but HHS estimates that number fell by nearly 40% after the Trump policy. The upheaval may have led to more than 180,000 unintended pregnancies, say the reports.
It was one of the promises made by Joe Biden during his election campaign that he would restore the programme. The new abortion referral policy for family planning clinics will take effect on November 8.
According to a report by the Breaking News Ireland, the Supreme Court has allowed the Texas law to take effect, but has not ruled on the substantive legal questions behind that statute, which bans most abortions in the state. The justices will hear arguments on December 1 on the Mississippi law, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.