Texas Attorney General sues Biden administration over federal confidential contraception program

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over a Title X federal program that allows teens to confidentially obtain birth control regardless of parental consent. The program also allows patients to receive contraception regardless of age, immigration status or income.

Paxton argues the federal program "defies" a previous rule by the 5th Circuit that allowed Texas to begin asking for parental consent to prescribe birth control.

"By attempting to force Texas healthcare providers to offer contraceptives to children without parental consent, the Biden Administration continues to prove they will do anything to implement their extremist agenda— even undermine the Constitution and violate the law," Paxton said in a statement.

The attorney general filed the lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo, where it will most likely be heard by conservative judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who previously ruled against the program's confidentiality clause.

Title X was established in 1970 under President Richard Nixon, and was designed to provide birth control and family planning to people who couldn't otherwise afford it. Federal regulations, and several court rulings, have long held that Title X providers cannot require teens to get parental permission to be prescribed birth control, according to the Texas Tribune.

Texas is the only state that requires its Title X clinics to have parental consent prior to providing teens with contraceptives. That is a result of a ruling by the Amarillo court— overseen by Kacsmaryk— that dictated in 2022 the program violates parents' rights.

Now, Paxton seeks to get the agency rule thrown out and a permanent injunction against its enforcement.

Title X providers have previously been outspoken about the importance of confidentiality for their work with minors, some of whom are unable to safely ask their parents for permission to get on birth control.

The 2022 ruling had some visible repercussions in the rate of teens getting contraception. For instance, Project Vida, a Title X provider in El Paso, saw a 50% drop in teens making appointments for contraception after they began requiring parental consent, chief medical officer Dr. Luis Garza told The Texas Tribune back in April.

"They're scared to even come in because they think their parents are going to find out, and they're missing out on a lot because of that," Garza said.

A new, more restrictive ruling, could be highly decisive for the state, as Texas' teen pregnancy rate ticked up for the first time in decades after the state banned nearly all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.