Weldon Amendment Survives Legal Challenge

The DC Circuit this morning rejected a legal challenge to the Weldon Amendment for lack of standing. The Weldon Amendment prohibits recipients of federal grant funds from discriminating against individuals or entities that refuse to provide or refer for abortions. The court rejected claims that the amendment is so vague that an organization could have it struck down as a whole without proving that any of its members had actually been threatened with loss of federal funding. The court noted similar provisions that have been on the books for years without creating any vagueness issue, and invited the plaintiffs to seek clarification of the regulations under the statute from HHS.