Rhode Island joined 22 states in suing to block a new federal policy that threatens to strip federal family planning funding from states and providers.
The lawsuit filed "challenges new conditions on Title X funds, which support reproductive health care, family planning, cancer screenings, and other critical preventive care for millions of Americans nationwide," according to a media release from the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.
"The new conditions will penalize states and providers that refuse to abandon nondiscrimination initiatives or conform their Title X programs to the administration's ideological vision of family planning," the release said. "The states are asking the court to block the unlawful and discriminatory conditions and protect Americans' access to affordable, high-quality health care."
Along with Rhode Island, the coalition consists of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
"Rhode Island's health care system is already in crisis, and this Administration's latest unlawful attempt to strip funding from the states will make it worse," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said in the release.
"Title X funding supports critical health care services — including family planning, cancer screenings, and the prevention and treatment of communicable diseases — for some of our most vulnerable community members," Neronha said. "Health care cannot be contingent on strongarming states into compliance with the President's political ideology. We must prioritize affordable and accessible health care for all Americans, and we will continue to fight against policies that put these essential services out of reach."
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