Victory in Maryland Title X Court Case
'Denying patients health information isn’t just wrong, it is unethical and against the law.'
Statement from Essential Access Health’s President + CEO, Julie Rabinovitz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2020
Contact: Amy Moy, 415.518.4465
'Today’s decision is a victory for Title X patients in Maryland, and we are hopeful that the regulations will be permanently enjoined in California and across the country in the coming weeks.
In his decision, Judge Richard D. Bennett stated,‘This court holds that the proposed rule as promulgated violates the Administrative Procedure Act in that it is arbitrary and capricious, being inadequately justified and objectionably unreasonable. The administrative record reflects that literally every medical association in the United States has opposed implementation of this rule.’
'The executive branch of government is not entitled to promulgate administrative rules where an agency’s explanations run counter to the evidence before [it].'
The Trump administration’s regulations are a solution in search of a problem. The regulations are irresponsible, and put political ideology over public health. Denying low-income patients comprehensive health information and delaying access to time-sensitive services isn’t just wrong - it is unethical and against the law.
Implementation of the regulations over the past seven months has already had a devastating effect. There has already been a 40% reduction in patients served by the program across California, disproportionately impacting underserved and rural areas, and communities of color.
Next Thursday, February 20, Essential Access Health will make our case in district court in San Francisco to permanently block Trump’s Title X regulations from being enforced in California. We will argue that the regulations are invalid, and violate federal law and medical ethics standards and best practices.
Essential Access Health has been with Title X from the beginning, and we will fight until the end to protect the program’s mandate to provide comprehensive health services for all, for generations to come.”
Background:
Essential Access Health has been the statewide Title X grantee in California since the program was established in 1970. As administrator of the largest and most comprehensive Title X network in the nation, Essential Access filed a lawsuit on March 4 to block the Trump administration’s harmful Title X regulations. Our Motion for Summary Judgment will be heard on Feb. 20 by Judge Edward Chen in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Essential Access Health v. Azar includes co-plaintiff Dr. Melissa Marshall, a family medicine doctor practicing at a Title X-funded health center in Yolo County, California. Essential Access and Dr. Marshall are represented by a team at the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, led by Michelle Ybarra.