Attorney general's office 'exploring options' after Oklahoma loses Title X funding

The state attorney general’s office is “exploring options” after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suspended the Oklahoma Department of Health’s Title X grant and now apparently has awarded money to an out-of-state agency for the provision of family planning services in Oklahoma.

The federal agency suspended the $4.5 million grant in May after a dispute concerning federal rules for Title X, which concerns family planning, and the Oklahoma State Department of Health appealed the grant’s suspension. But last week, The Frontier reported the nonprofit Missouri Family Health Council had received almost $3.3 million in new federal funding earmarked for services in Oklahoma.

Why Title X funding has been suspended in Oklahoma

States use Title X grants to offer a range of services. Federal law regarding Title X grants says they can’t be used to provide abortion as a method of family planning, but that clients must be provided information about pregnancy termination, along with prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care and adoption.

At that time, a spokesperson for the state Health Department said the federal agency “has interpreted their rules in such a way as to require OSDH to execute the grant via a policy that is contrary to state law.” Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its federal abortion rights precedents in 2022, Oklahoma state law has banned most abortions.

“Because OSDH cannot comply, HHS has suspended Oklahoma’s Title X grant for noncompliance. We have worked for months and continue to work with HHS to reach an acceptable resolution that does not force OSDH to directly or indirectly violate Oklahoma law,” the state Health Department said in May.

More: Oklahoma dispute with Biden administration freezes family planning money

Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, confirmed Monday that “we have been in discussions with the Health Department and are aware of the situation and are exploring options.” However, he also said the attorney general’s office is “not currently in discussions with the federal government.”

State Health Department spokeswoman Erica Rankin-Riley said the department was using $4.5 million in money appropriated by the Oklahoma Legislature to continue operating family planning services in the state.

“The State of Oklahoma continues to deliver critical family planning services to Oklahomans regardless of HHS terminating Oklahoma’s historical federal funding,” Rankin-Riley said. “We continue to diligently work through the appeals process, as laid out by federal statutes and rules. In the interim, OSDH is appreciative of the funding granted by the Oklahoma Legislature to ensure continuity of services while we await funding to be reinstated.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Title X funds meant for Oklahoma goes to out-of-state agencies