Can Trump Defund Planned Parenthood Over Abortions? Obama Administration Issues New Regulation

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final regulation regarding Planned Parenthood on Wednesday in an effort to prevent states from cutting funding to the service under President-elect Donald Trump.

Without naming the nonprofit organization, the HHS statement clarified that no state or local government could prohibit qualified family planning and preventative services from receiving federal funding. The provision protects funding for services such as testing for fertility, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases as well as screening for breast and cervical cancer. The rule also safeguards federal grants for contraception.

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards lauded the decision in an online statement.

"President Obama has cemented his legacy as a champion for women’s health. This rule protects birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and other health care for millions of people. Yet this fight is not over. We are deeply concerned about the future of health care access in this country with extremists like Mike Pence and Tom Price at the helm," Richards wrote.

Trump and other members of his incoming administration, such as Vice President-elect Pence and recently-announced HHS Secretary Tom Price, have expressed opposition toward federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which also provides abortion services. The current HHS regulation cannot protect abortion services, which are barred from receiving federal funding by law except in cases of rape or incest. Trump has argued against giving any money to Planned Parenthood as long as it performed abortions, which make up 3 percent of the organization's services.

"We're not going to allow, and we're not going to fund, as long as you have the abortion going on at Planned Parenthood," Trump said during a presidential campaign stop in March. "We understand that, and I've said it loud and clear."

While the HHS ruling on Planned Parenthood and its affiliates is final, it can be challenged by a Trump administration. The Congressional Review Act allows legislators to weigh in on regulations issued by federal bodies including HHS, meaning the $528 million a year that the organization receives in federal funding is still at risk.