Missouri Joins Lawsuit Against Biden Administration Over Reversal of Abortion Referral Ban

This week, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined 11 other attorneys general in filing suit against the Biden administration, seeking to restore a ban on abortion referrals by family planning clinics participating in the Title X program. The rules, passed during the Trump administration, required federally funded family planning clinics to be physically and financially separated from abortion facilities and prohibited such clinics from referring patients for abortions. Stating that his office had “vehemently defended” Missouri’s law that prevents abortions based solely on a Down syndrome diagnosis, Attorney General Schmitt stated that his office would “continue to fight to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not spent on abortions and to defend the sanctity of life.” Groups representing the family planning clinics said they hoped the reversal could lead to the return of 1,300 facilities to the Title X program. The other states joining the legal challenge are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia.