Trump admin rule puts reproductive health care for 160K Pa. patients at
risk, lawsuit says
[June 27, 2026]
Family planning and health organizations that serve tens of
thousands of people across Pennsylvania could see federal funding
delayed or denied by a new Trump administration policy, a new lawsuit
alleges.
The suit, which includes the Cumberland County-based Family Health
Council of Central Pennsylvania as a plaintiff, takes aim at a step
added this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to
applications for Title X grants, which provide local agencies with funds
to aid low-income and uninsured patients with family planning and
related health services.
That new process is detailed in the Title X 2027 Notice of Funding
Opportunity published in April. It states that before applicants are
assessed on their merits, a group of presidential appointees will
conduct an “alignment review” to determine whether each application
matches the agency’s “priorities.” The plan offers no opportunity to
appeal the group’s decision.
To the plaintiffs in the suit, that sounded like code for evaluating
applicants based on politics.
“The Trump administration’s attempt to condition Title X funding on
political allegiance is a grave threat to public health,” Sara Rose,
deputy legal director at ACLU of Pennsylvania and attorney on the case,
said in a statement. “Grant decisions must be guided by objective
standards to ensure that taxpayer money is spent fairly and efficiently
without regard to the ideology of its recipients.”
Created during the Nixon administration to help low-income people
prevent unwanted pregnancies, Title X funding has long drawn opposition
from anti-abortion activists.
The Trump administration has also attempted to shift the focus of the
program toward promoting more pregnancies. Officials tried and failed
earlier this year to block Title X funding from reaching Planned
Parenthood facilities.
The suit is filed in the federal Middle District of Pennsylvania. It
names HHS, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other agency staff as
defendants.
There are four Title X grantees in the commonwealth, each serving a
specific region: The Family Health Council in central Pennsylvania,
AccessMatters in Philadelphia, Adagio Health in the west, and Maternal
and Family Health Services in the northeast.
Combined, they receive more than $12.6 million in Title X funds annually
to serve more than 160,000 patients in Pennsylvania, according to their
grant details listed on HHS’ website. (AccessMatters is by far the
largest, working with more than 90,000 people.)
These organizations offer everything from fertility care and access to
contraception to screenings for cancers and sexually transmitted
infections.
Nationwide, the most recent data from HHS shows Title X grantees served
nearly 2.8 million people.
Also at issue in the lawsuit is that HHS already has a set of
regulations, put in place during President Joe Biden’s administration,
that govern Title X applications — and many of them directly conflict
with stated Trump administration priorities.
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 The suit highlights, for instance,
that the HHS website currently states that ending
“ideologically-laden concepts like health equity” is a priority,
while Title X rules simultaneously require grantees to “advance
health equity.”
Another alleged conflict stems from the Trump
administration’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion
initiatives, especially for transgender people. Current Title X
regulations mandate that grantees ensure transgender people have
access to their programming.
Brigitte Amiri, deputy director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom
Project, told Spotlight PA that the Trump administration could
overturn the Biden-era regulations by undertaking a public notice
and comment rulemaking process.
“But you can’t just do it by a funding announcement,” she said.
The new review step “subverts the integrity” of the Title X grant
application process, the lawsuit argues, and enables HHS “to hijack”
the Title X program to fund organizations furthering the agency’s
“political agenda.”
The lawsuit also notes that Title X funds are prohibited from being
used for abortions.
Federal Judge Jennifer Wilson, who was nominated to the bench by
Trump in 2019, will hear the case.
Spotlight PA sought a comment on the lawsuit from HHS, but did not
receive a response.
The Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania was selected to
join the lawsuit because it has received Title X funding since the
establishment of the program in 1970, and it serves a large area,
the chief executive of the National Family Planning & Reproductive
Health Association told Stateline.
Patricia Fonzi, president and CEO of the Family Health Council, said
in a statement that her organization serves more than 31,000 people
across a 24-county region.
“We welcome a competitive grant process and believe every applicant
should be evaluated on its ability to effectively serve communities,
responsibly steward federal resources, and demonstrate the
experience and capacity necessary to carry out the Title X statute,”
Fonzi said.
“At the end of the day, the success of Title X is measured by
whether people can access the care they need in their own
communities — and that depends on funding decisions grounded in
experience, proven performance, and the ability to deliver
comprehensive care where it is needed most.”
The plaintiffs are urging the court to vacate the Trump
administration’s new Title X rule and declare it “unlawful.”
Title X funds are issued to agencies on a five-year basis, with
annual renewal requirements. The new rule at issue was included in
the process for grants under fiscal year 2027, which will begin a
new five-year cycle.
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