Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and 22 other states sued to block new federal conditions on Title X funding, the nation's largest family planning program, arguing the restrictions violate federal law and discriminate against LGBTQ+ patients.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, challenges conditions announced in July by the Department of Health and Human Services on Title X grants for the next five-year cycle. The program has provided contraception, cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing, and other preventive health care to millions for over 50 years.
The new conditions require states and providers to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion practices; exclude transgender people; discourage contraception use in favor of natural family planning; counsel all patients toward marriage and parenthood; and comply with unrelated political priorities like "ending crime and disorder on America's streets," according to the lawsuit.
The states argue the conditions conflict with Title X's governing statute and regulations, which require providers to offer a broad range of contraceptive methods, provide neutral counseling, and serve all patients including LGBTQ+ individuals without discrimination. The lawsuit also challenges the conditions as vague and says the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to seek public comment before imposing them.
In Nevada, approximately $3 million in Title X funding for fiscal year 2026 supports state and local health agencies, including 13 community clinics serving nine rural counties. According to 2022 data, 45% of family planning visits served patients living below the federal poverty line, while 72% served patients with incomes below 250% of the federal poverty line.
Joining Ford in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts, as well as the governors of Pennsylvania and Kentucky.