Overview
- A coalition led by New York, Maryland and Massachusetts filed a federal suit in Maryland seeking an injunction to stop the HHS Notice of Funding Opportunity from taking effect, with the filing made Thursday as part of a coordinated multistate effort.
- The states argue the NOFO was issued without required notice-and-comment rulemaking and that its conditions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Spending Clause and Title X’s statutory duties.
- The complaint details specific NOFO requirements the plaintiffs say are unlawful, including discouraging contraception in favor of natural family planning, banning diversity and inclusion programs, recognizing only two sexes, and counseling toward marriage and parenthood.
- State officials warn that enforcing the new conditions could strip funds from providers and immediately disrupt care, citing examples such as California’s roughly 460,000 Title X clients and New York’s 165 clinics that serve more than 250,000 mostly low-income patients.
- Title X has funded family planning since 1970 and distributes about $286 million a year, so the case — which runs alongside a separate Planned Parenthood challenge in D.C. — could determine whether federal grants continue under prior program rules or under the administration’s revised terms.