Oklahoma Urges Supreme Court to Restore Family Planning Grants From HHS

Oklahoma asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to force the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release millions of dollars in grants the agency withdrew over the state’s refusal to provide abortion referrals. HHS takes the position that Oklahoma ceased to be entitled to the funding when it made clear it would not include abortion in its information about family planning services. Abortion is banned in Oklahoma except when it is deemed necessary to save the life of the mother. The state’s current abortion law took effect after the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the regulation of abortion to the states....