Supreme Court Rejects Oklahoma’s Bid for Federal Grants in Dispute Over Abortion Counseling

The dispute centers on when states should receive federal grants focused on family planning. In establishing the program in 1970, Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services to lay out eligibility requirements. Among them: Applicants must offer counseling and referrals for all manner of issues, including abortion. Oklahoma’s health department was among the grant recipients for 2022. But after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Health and Human Services Department told grant recipients that they must continue to offer counseling and referrals for all options, including abortion. Months later, Oklahoma raised concerns about the stipulation, arguing that it stood at odds with its strict abortion laws. The federal agency responded by suggesting that Oklahoma provide such referrals through a national call-in phone line. Even as the state accepted the grant in March 2023, agreeing to disclose the call-in number as a condition, shortly after, it “decided to stop sharing” that information, the appeals panel wrote.