Pro-life activist Mark Houck discusses New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill signing a controversial law that critics say could criminalize prayer outside abortion clinics on ‘Saturday in America.’
Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday challenging new conditions on federal family planning grants, including requirements aimed at ensuring taxpayer resources do not support elective abortion and promoting "life-affirming" services.
Shapiro announced the lawsuit by accusing the Trump administration of making it harder for low-income Pennsylvanians to access what he called "lifesaving reproductive care and family planning services," specifically pointing to cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
But the 63-page complaint also challenges abortion-related provisions in the Trump administration's new requirements for Title X grants, including a directive that recipients "maintain strict separation from prohibited activities" and contribute to broader U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) efforts to "safeguard life-affirming, lawful, and ethical program delivery."
PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACROSS MIDWEST AT RISK DUE TO LACK OF FEDERAL FUNDS AFTER 3 FACILITIES CLOSE IN MICHIGAN
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday challenging new conditions on federal family planning grants. (Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)
Live Action blasted Shapiro's characterization in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing him of fighting to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood.
"Governor Shapiro is calling Planned Parenthood’s services ‘lifesaving care’ while fighting to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to the nation’s largest abortion chain," Noah Brandt, vice president of communications and government affairs at Live Action, said. "There is nothing lifesaving about abortion."
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Pro-choice activists hold signs outside a Planned Parenthood in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo, File)
Brandt said women deserve access to cancer screenings, prenatal care and other medical services, but argued that does not require taxpayers to subsidize Planned Parenthood.
"Governor Shapiro should stop hiding the abortion industry behind euphemisms and be honest about what he is defending: the killing of our youngest children," Brandt added.
Title X funding is already prohibited from being used for abortion. Shapiro's lawsuit challenges the Trump administration's additional conditions aimed at "life-affirming" program delivery.
The administration's new funding terms state that HHS will prioritize programs that uphold federal abortion-funding protections and "do not use taxpayer resources to promote or support elective abortion."
COALITION OF 25 STATES SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER MEDICAID WORK RULE DESIGNED TO PREVENT FRAUD
