The U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear a case involving a Trump-era rule on abortion, giving the 6-3 conservative majority its first opportunity to weigh in on the hot-button issue.
The 2019 Trump administration provision barred health clinics from receiving federal family planning funds if they provided referrals for abortions, prompting organizations including Planned Parenthood to withdraw from the Title X program.
Critics — Democrats and abortion-rights groups — called the order a "gag rule" that would restrict the ability of women to obtain abortions and abortion counseling. But supporters of the rule — Republicans and anti-abortion organizations — said it will ensure that federal money isn't used to pay for abortions.
Twenty-one states, including Oregon, California and New York, challenged the 2019 regulation issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. They had mixed success.
The Ninth Circuit, for instance, ruled that Trump administration's rule was "not arbitrary and capricious" because the administration "properly examined the relevant considerations and gave reasonable explanations." The Fourth Circuit ruled the opposite. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is preparing to reverse the policy.
In a joint statement Monday, the ACLU, the American Medical Association, Essential Access Health, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America said they welcomed the court's decision to review the lower court's opinion.
"We remain committed to securing a swift outcome, whether from the court or the Biden administration, that will protect Title X patients, physicians, providers, and the health of the nation from further irreparable harm imposed by the current rule," they said in the statement.
Trump's financial records
In a separate, long-awaited case, the court declined former President Donald Trump's request to further delay the enforcement of a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney for Trump's financial records. The one-sentence unsigned order paves the way for a New York grand jury to obtain the records and review them.
The case is from Novemberwhen Trump's private lawyers asked the high court to block New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s efforts to get eight years of Trump's tax records. A New York grand jury issued a subpoena directed not to the president personally, but to an accounting firm that has long dealt with his personal finances, Mazars USA.
Trump's lawyers had argued that a president is immune from investigation while in office. But that argument was dismissed by a federal judge and a panel of the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Now that Trump is no longer in office, the New York grand jury can obtain the records.
Vance is investigating alleged hush-money payments made to two women during the 2016 presidential campaign. Adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal both said they had affairs with Trump — allegations the president has denied. The New York prosecutor says the president's tax records could shed light on whether Trump or his employees falsified business records to hide the alleged payments.
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