Oklahoma asks Supreme Court to prevent feds from punishing state over abortion restrictions

Oklahoma asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to halt the federal government from withholding millions of dollars from its health department over the state agency not referring or counseling patients for abortions following the state’s move to ban the procedure.
A 2021 rule issued by the Health and Human Services Department conditions funding on the requirement for “grantees to offer abortion counseling and referrals,” according to the court filing.

Oklahoma says that HHS’ interpretation of Title X stretches too far to deny states the funds for refusing to provide information on abortion. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Oklahoma, prompting its pet …