President Donald Trump's administration plans to propose a new rule Friday that would bar abortions at facilities receiving federal family planning funds, according to two people familiar with the plans -- a move aimed squarely at Planned Parenthood, which accepts some federal money for non-abortion services.
Long sought by conservatives, the step would take the administration's push to curtail abortions further. There are already laws in place that prevent federal money from directly funding abortions, but groups like Planned Parenthood still accept federal dollars for services like annual screenings and checkups.
"This proposal does not necessarily defund Planned Parenthood, as long as they're willing to disentangle taxpayer funds from abortion as a method of family planning, which is required by the Title X law," said a Trump administration official. "Any grantees that perform, support, or refer for abortion have a choice -- disentangle themselves from abortion or fund their activities with privately raised funds."
Under the new rule, those services would have to be performed in a different place than abortions, and by different employees, if the facility is to continue receiving federal family planning dollars.
Planned Parenthood receives some of its funding from those programs, known as Title X. But the bulk of the federal money it receives comes from Medicaid, and would not be affected by the new rule.
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