Judge blocks Trump administration ‘gag rule,’ but limits injunction to California

A San Francisco federal judge on Friday granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from implementing new regulations forbidding health care providers from making referrals for abortion services, but limited the scope of the injunction to California.

U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen granted the injunction sought by the state Department of Justice and a Yolo County health center, Essential Access Health Inc. State of California et al. v. Azar et al., 19-CV01184 (N.D. Cal., filed March 4, 2019).

The lawsuit was filed after the Trump administration proposed new regulations changing the guidelines for organziations that receive federal Title X funding. Plaintiffs in the two lawsuits claimed the rule, scheduled to go into effect May 3, would create "daunting barriers" for California women seeking timely redproductive health care.

Chen agreed. "The Final Rule commands medical professionals to provide incomplete and misleading information to women seeking to terminate their pregnancies contrary to what patients want and need, delaying and potentially frustrating their attempts to obtain time-sensitive care, and thereby jeopardizing their health and welfare," he wrote.

During an April 18 hearing, attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice clashed with lawyers representing the state and the Essential Access, as well as larger organizations such as Planned Parenthood that claimed it would not be able to get Title X funding under the new regulations.

Michelle S. Ybarra of Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP -- which represented Essential Access Health -- told Chen that Planned Parenthood, which accounts for 40 percent of the 4,000 clinics nationwide that receiving the federal funding, would no longer be eligible. She said 650 Planned Parenthood associates would be forced to exit the program.

James Burnham of the U.S. Department of Justice countered that the changes do not directly cut off funding for any organization. He said the state and other plaintiffs have offered no concrete evidence of irreparable harm since most programs will most likely comply rather than risk the Title X funding.

Anna M. Rich of the California Department of Justice argued for the state at the April 18 hearing.

An Oregon federal judge also granted a preliminary injunction blocking the new regulations last week.

Chen declined to grant the plaintiffs' bid for a nationwide injunction, ruling the state and Essential Health Access are both based in California.

"In short, Plaintiffs have not shown at this juncture that a nationwide injunction is necessary to protect their interests," the judge wrote.