President Trump has denied knowledge of his administration's decision to release frozen funds to Planned Parenthood, a move that had been the subject of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of D.C. The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association announced earlier this week that it had voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the Trump administration after the government restored all Title X family planning grants that were at issue in the litigation.
The funds, which totaled $27.5 million, were frozen last year as part of an investigation into whether certain organizations, including Planned Parenthood affiliates, were complying with federal law. The Department of Health and Human Services had not specified which laws or executive orders the groups were suspected of violating.
Despite the restoration of the funds, critics argue that the move does not go far enough to address concerns about access to reproductive healthcare. According to the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, the withholding of funds left approximately 865 family planning service sites unable to provide Title X-funded services to an estimated 842,000 patients across nearly two dozen states.
The lawsuit had been filed after federal officials alerted 16 organizations that the department was freezing their grants to investigate potential non-compliance with federal law. The ACLU and its affiliate had argued that the move was unlawful and would have a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and marginalized populations.
President Trump's denial of knowledge about the administration's decision to release the funds raises questions about his level of involvement in the matter. It is unclear whether he was aware of the investigation or the subsequent restoration of the grants, but his statement suggests that he may not have been informed about the details of the situation.
The funds, which totaled $27.5 million, were frozen last year as part of an investigation into whether certain organizations, including Planned Parenthood affiliates, were complying with federal law. The Department of Health and Human Services had not specified which laws or executive orders the groups were suspected of violating.
Despite the restoration of the funds, critics argue that the move does not go far enough to address concerns about access to reproductive healthcare. According to the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, the withholding of funds left approximately 865 family planning service sites unable to provide Title X-funded services to an estimated 842,000 patients across nearly two dozen states.
The lawsuit had been filed after federal officials alerted 16 organizations that the department was freezing their grants to investigate potential non-compliance with federal law. The ACLU and its affiliate had argued that the move was unlawful and would have a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and marginalized populations.
President Trump's denial of knowledge about the administration's decision to release the funds raises questions about his level of involvement in the matter. It is unclear whether he was aware of the investigation or the subsequent restoration of the grants, but his statement suggests that he may not have been informed about the details of the situation.
... like, come on Trump, own up to something if you're gonna deny knowledge 
... it's not like we don't know how politics works around here 
... and now these family planning sites are still struggling because of your administration's move 
... what's the point of even having Title X grants if they're just gonna be frozen every few years? 
... 842,000 people affected by this? That's not a small number 
... and for what? So you can pretend like you care about healthcare but really you're just trying to control it all 
... I'm not buying it 
... we need more transparency and accountability from our leaders 
...
The whole thing feels so shady. And it's not just that, it's the fact that these grants were frozen in the first place and now they're just "restored"... what even is that supposed to mean? 
Is this some kind of PR stunt? I don't know... but it's got me feeling all kinds of uneasy 
. And what about those 842,000 patients who were affected by the funding freeze? How are they supposed to get their healthcare now? 
And now critics are saying the move doesn't go far enough... I get it, access to reproductive healthcare is super important 
. But can we please have some clarity on what's going on here? It's not like this is a new thing – the ACLU was already suing over this last year 
. I'm just tired of the back-and-forth and the lack of transparency... shouldn't we know who's in charge here? 
It's not addressing the root issue here. And can we talk about how suspicious it is that he's denying knowledge of the whole thing? Wasn't he in the loop or was he clueless? Either way, it's just more proof that this admin doesn't care about people's health and wellbeing. 
865 family planning sites can't do their thing because of this... it's just, like, so frustrating 
I'm kinda surprised they're even releasing those funds now after all the drama around it. I mean, I know there's a lawsuit and all, but can't we just resolve these things without making a big deal out of them? It's like, yeah, okay, you released the funds... but what about all those people who were counting on getting Title X services? 
The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association saying they're not satisfied with the restoration of the funds is just another thing for critics to point at... I mean, can't we all just agree that access to reproductive healthcare is a basic human right? 