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Oregon won't use federal funds for family planning clinics

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s health care agency says it will no longer use federal dollars to fund family planning clinics because of new Trump administration rules that impose additional hurdles for women seeking abortion.

Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, said Tuesday that banning taxpayer-funded clinics from making abortion referrals would cause Oregon to violate its own state laws on abortion access.

The new federal rules also prohibit clinics that receive federal funds from sharing office space with abortion providers.

Oregon has used the so-called Title X grants to fund clinics for 50 years.

The agency says clinics funded by those grants served 44,000 women statewide in 2018.

Oregon is the lead plaintiff along with 18 other states in a federal lawsuit challenging the so-called gag rules on abortion.

Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press