NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court has shot down Tennessee's attempt to collect millions of dollars in family planning funds without complying with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure.
Last year, Tennessee's Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a federal complaint seeking to overturn the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' decision to disqualify the state from receiving money offered through a family planning program known as Title X. A lower court later determined that Tennessee was unlikely to succeed and the state appealed that decision.
In 2021, the Biden administration announced that clinics that accept Title X funds must offer information about abortion. However, Skrmetti’s argued that HHS did not alert officials how the rule would apply in states with abortion bans now allowed under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Yet the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argued in a ruling Monday that Tennessee could not use its abortion ban law to “dictate eligibility requirements” for Title X funding. The 31-page ruling means the federal government will not reinstate Tennessee’s Title X funding while the lawsuit continues through the courts.
Furthermore, the appeals court said that the state was not obligated to accept the money and noted that the Tennessee Legislature approved of replacing the lost federal dollars with state funding.
“Tennessee was free to voluntarily relinquish the grants for any reason, especially if it determined that the requirements would violate its state laws,” the ruling stated.
A spokesperson for Skrmetti's office said they were “reviewing the opinion and considering next steps.”
Tennessee has been a recipient of the program since it launched in 1970, recently collecting around $7.1 million annually to help nearly 100 clinics provide birth control and basic health care services mainly to low-income women, many of them from minority communities.
Under the latest rule, clinics cannot use federal family planning money to pay for abortions, but they must offer information about abortion at the patient’s request.
Tennessee bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy but includes some narrow exceptions.
In March of 2023, HHS informed Tennessee health officials that the state was out of Title X compliance because of its policy barring clinics from providing information on pregnancy termination options that weren’t legal in the state — effectively prohibiting any discussions on elective abortions. The state defended its policy and refused to back down, causing the federal government to declare that continuing Tennessee’s Title X money was “not in the best interest of the government.”
HHS later announced that Tennessee’s Title X funds would largely be directed to Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the United States, which would distribute the money to its clinics located in Tennessee.
"Millions of people across the country rely on essential care — like birth control, STI screenings and treatment, cancer screenings, and other key sexual and reproductive health care services — funded by Title X," said Ashley Coffield, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi in a statement. “The state’s decision not to comply with all-options counseling is playing politics with our bodies.”
FILE - Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti speaks during a news conference, Oct. 24, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia county's emergency call center was overwhelmed by calls on Sept. 4 about a school shooting at Apalachee High School, records released Friday by Barrow County show.
Local news organizations report many of the 911 phone calls were not released under public record requests because state law exempts from release calls recording the voice of someone younger than 18 years old. That exemption would cover calls from most of the 1,900 students at the school in Winder, northeast of Atlanta.
Calls spiked around 10:20 a.m., when authorities have said that 14-year-old Colt Gray began shooting. Many calls were answered with automated message saying there was a “high call volume," WAGA-TV reported.
One man called 911 after receiving text messages from a girlfriend. He was put on hold for just over 10 minutes because of an influx of calls at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“She hears people yelling outside, so I don’t know if that’s officers in the building or that’s — I don’t know,” he said, adding that she was eventually evacuated out of the school.
Other adults also called 911 after their children contacted them.
“My daughter calling me crying. Somebody go ‘boom, boom, boom, boom,’ ” one mother said. The 911 operator responded: “Ma’am we have officers out there, OK?”
Parents of students at an elementary school and middle school neighboring Apalachee also flooded 911 seeking information.
“Sir, my daughter goes to school next door to Apalachee. Is there a school shooter?" one caller asked.
“We do have an active situation (at) Apalachee High School right now," the operator responded. "We have a lot of calls coming in.”
More than 500 radio messages between emergency personnel were also released Friday.
“Active shooter!” an officer yells in one audio clip while speaking with a dispatcher, CNN reported. Another officer responds, “Correct. We have an active shooter at Apalachee High School.”
The shooting killed teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, as well as students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, with seven of those hit by gunfire.
Colt Gray is charged as an adult with four counts of murder, and District Attorney Brad Smith has said more charges are likely to be filed against him in connection with the wounded. Authorities have also charged his father, Colin Gray, alleging that he gave his son access to the gun when he knew or should have known that the teen was a danger to himself and others.
The 13,000 students at Barrow County’s other schools returned to class Tuesday. The 1,900 students who attend Apalachee are supposed to start returning the week of Sept. 23, officials said Friday.
Mourners listen to a speaker during a candlelight vigil for the slain students and teachers at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A memorial is seen at Apalachee High School after the Wednesday school shooting, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
This combo of images show shooting victims, from left, Christian Angulo, Mason Schermerhorn, Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, displayed at a memorial outside Apalachee High School, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)
Two students view a memorial as the flags fly half-staff after a shooting Wednesday at Apalachee High School, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
911 calls overwhelmed operators after shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School
911 calls overwhelmed operators after shooting at Georgia's Apalachee High School
Students and parents walk off campus at Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Winder, Ga. A shooting at the Georgia high school Wednesday caused an unknown number of injuries and a suspect was arrested in a chaotic scene. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
