The Supreme Court Rejects Oklahoma’s Emergency Appeal in Dispute Over Family Planning Services

The Supreme Court made a decision on Tuesday to reject Oklahoma’s emergency appeal seeking to restore a $4.5 million grant for family planning services. This ongoing dispute between Oklahoma and the federal Health and Human Services Department revolves around the state’s refusal to refer pregnant women to a nationwide hotline that provides information about abortion and other options.

The brief order did not provide details on the court’s reasoning, but it stated that three justices—Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch—would have sided with Oklahoma. Lower courts had previously ruled that cutting off Oklahoma from the funds did not violate federal law.

This case is the result of a disagreement over state abortion restrictions and federal grants provided under a family planning program known as Title X. The tension has increased since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leading many Republican-led states to outlaw abortion.

Clinics that receive federal family planning money are prohibited from using it to pay for abortions. However, they must offer information about abortion upon the patient’s request. Oklahoma’s Attorney General office has not yet responded to requests for comments.

Oklahoma states that it cannot comply with the requirement to provide abortion counseling and referrals due to the state’s abortion ban, which criminalizes advising or procuring an abortion for any woman.

In 2021, the Biden administration reversed a ban on abortion referrals by clinics accepting Title X funds. The Trump administration had initially implemented this restriction in 2019, but the policy has since fluctuated depending on the administration in power.

Similar lawsuits are ongoing in other states like Tennessee, while Oklahoma and 10 other states are challenging the federal regulation separately.

Oklahoma distributes the funds to approximately 70 city and county health departments for family planning, infertility help, and services for adolescents. For rural communities, these government-run health facilities can be the sole access points for critical preventative services, spanning tens or even hundreds of miles.

Associated Press writer, Lindsay Whitehurst, contributed to this story.