The Trump administration is resurrecting a rule that bans federally-funded family planning clinics from discussing abortion with women and sharing space with abortion providers.
The Department of Health and Human Services will announce its proposal Friday, a senior White House official said Thursday. The original form of the rule stems from the Reagan White House era.
The policy has been derided as a "gag rule" by abortion rights supporters and medical groups, and it is likely to trigger lawsuits that could keep it from taking effect. However, it's guaranteed to stir activists on both sides of the abortion debate ahead of the congressional midterm elections.
Abortion is a legal medical procedure. Doctors' groups and abortion rights supporters say a ban on counseling women trespasses on the doctor-patient relationship.
They point out that federal family planning funds cannot be currently used to pay for abortion procedures.