Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Heckler, s. 83-1232

Decision Date08 July 1983
Docket NumberNos. 83-1232,83-1239,s. 83-1232
Citation712 F.2d 650
Parties, 229 U.S.App.D.C. 336 PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA, INC., et al. v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Appellant. NATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSOCIATION, Inc., et al. v. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES et al., Appellants.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Carolyn B. Kuhl, Deputy Asst. Atty. Gen., Washington, D.C., with whom J. Paul McGrath, Asst. Atty. Gen., Stanley S. Harris, U.S. Atty., and Leonard Schaitman and William G. Cole, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellants.

Nancy L. Buc, Washington, D.C., for appellees Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., et al. Scott T. Maker, Washington, D.C., entered an appearance for appellees Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., et al.

John W. Nields, Jr., Washington, D.C., with whom Deborah V. Swirling, Washington, D.C., was on the brief, for appellees Nat. Family Planning and Reproductive Health Ass'n, Inc., et al.

William J. Olson and James E. Gates, Washington, D.C., were on the brief for amici curiae Jeremiah A. Denton et al., urging reversal.

Ruth J. Katz, Philadelphia, Pa., was on the brief for amicus curiae U.S. Congressman Henry A. Waxman, urging affirmance.

Sana F. Shtasel, Washington, D.C., was on the brief for amicus curiae U.S. Senator Bob Packwood, urging affirmance.

Elizabeth Symonds, Washington, D.C., was on the brief for amici curiae American Public Health Ass'n et al., urging affirmance.

Before WRIGHT, EDWARDS and BORK, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge J. SKELLY WRIGHT.

Opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part filed by Circuit Judge BORK.

J. SKELLY WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

At issue in this case is the validity of regulations recently issued by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requiring all providers of family planning services which receive funds under Title X of the Public Health Service Act (Title X) 1: (1) to notify parents or guardians within ten working days of prescribing contraceptives to unemancipated minors; (2) to comply with state laws requiring parental notice of, or consent to, the provision of any family planning services to minors; and (3) to consider minors who wish to receive services on the basis of their parents' financial resources, rather than their own. 2 Numerous organizations and individuals joined in a consolidated action in the District Court to enjoin the Secretary from enforcing these regulations. The lower court entered a preliminary, and then a final, injunction prohibiting enforcement of the new regulations on the ground that they constitute invalid agency action in excess of statutory authority. Because we agree that the regulations are fundamentally inconsistent with Congress' intent and purpose in enacting Title X and are therefore beyond the limits of the Secretary's delegated authority, we affirm the decision below.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Statute and Regulations

In 1970 Congress enacted Title X of the Public Health Service Act to establish a nationwide program with the express purpose of making "comprehensive family planning services readily available to all persons desiring such services." 3 Congress authorized the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to make grants and enter into contracts with public or nonprofit entities to assist in the establishment of family planning projects that offer a broad range of family planning methods, including the provision of prescription and nonprescription contraceptive drugs and devices. See 42 U.S.C. § 300(a) (as amended). The Title X program was originally funded for three years, but has since been reauthorized and refunded continuously. 4

In light of the breadth of the statutory language and clear congressional intent that all persons receive such services, 5 Title X grantees have served the teenage population from the inception of the program. Following enactment of Title X, however, Congress frequently expressed its increasing concern about the still unmet family planning needs of sexually active teenagers in this country. See, e.g., H.R.Rep. No. 1161, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 14 (1974) ("certain population groups requiring these services are not being reached * * * includ[ing] teenagers"); S.Rep. No. 29, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. 55 (1975). Ultimately, Congress in 1978 amended the statute itself to require that Title X projects offer "a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services (including * * * services for adolescents )." See 42 U.S.C. § 300(a) (emphasis added). While this amendment simply codified accepted past practice, the added language clearly reflected Congress' intent to place "a special emphasis on preventing unwanted pregnancies among sexually active adolescents." S.Rep. No. 822, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 24 (1978). 6

In 1981 Congress again amended Title X, this time to require by statute that grantees encourage family participation in their Title X programs. With this additional language, Section 300(a) of the Act now reads:

The Secretary is authorized to make grants to and enter into contracts with public or nonprofit private entities to assist in the establishment and operation of voluntary family planning projects which shall offer a broad range of acceptable and effective family planning methods and services (including natural family planning methods, infertility services, and services for adolescents). To the extent practical, entities which receive grants or contracts under this subsection shall encourage family participation in projects assisted under this subsection.

42 U.S.C. § 300(a) (amendment emphasized).

On February 22, 1982 the Secretary published for public comment modifications of certain regulations governing Title X grants. Proposed as a means of implementing Congress' 1981 amendment to Title X, 7 the new regulations seek to mandate the encouragement of family participation in three basic ways. First, and most significantly, they require Title X grantees to notify a parent or guardian within 10 working days of initially prescribing contraceptives to an unemancipated minor. 8 Without verification that such notice was received, no further prescriptions may be provided to the minor. 9

Second, the regulations require Title X recipients to comply with any state law that mandates notification or consent of parent or guardian upon provision of family planning services to a minor. 10 Finally, the new regulations redefine the statutory phrase "low-income family" so as to require Title X grantees to consider the economic eligibility of minors on the basis of their parents', rather than their own, financial resources. 11

As the Department itself acknowledged, public response to the proposed regulations was "overwhelming." 12 Over 120,000 individuals and organizations contributed to the public comment. 13 Among those opposing the proposed regulations were 19 major medical associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, 40 states, and the District of Columbia. On January 26, 1983 HHS nevertheless promulgated the final regulations, virtually unchanged. 14 They were accompanied by a 15-page preamble that generally discussed the comments submitted and the reasons for the new rules. 15 The regulations were to take effect on February 25, 1983.

B. The Proceedings and Decisions Below

Even before the final regulations were published, however, two separate actions were brought in the District Court to enjoin the Secretary 16 and the Department from enforcing the regulations. Plaintiffs in one action were the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., a national organization concerned with family planning, and three of its member affiliates who receive Title X grants to provide family planning services and are therefore subject to the new regulations. 17 The second suit was brought by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Inc. (NFPRHA), a national nonprofit organization whose members are predominantly family planning clinics receiving Title X funding, and numerous other organizations and individuals affected by the regulations. 18 The District Court consolidated the two actions.

On February 18, 1983 the District Court granted plaintiffs' consolidated motions for preliminary injunction, ordering the Secretary and the Department to cease enforcement of the challenged regulations pending further order of the court. 19 See Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Schweiker, 559 F.Supp. 658 (D.D.C.1983) (hereinafter cited as Planned Parenthood ). In addressing plaintiffs' likelihood of success on the merits, the court reviewed the statutory language of the 1981 amendment to Title X, its legislative history, and the general structure of Title X. The court concluded that the regulations requiring parental notification "are outside the scope of the agency's authorizing legislation, and are therefore invalid." Id. at 669. The court also held that the other two requirements--compliance with state parental notification and consent laws and redefinition of adolescent financial eligibility--are similarly invalid for violating the intent of Title X. Id. Since the court found that the regulations were promulgated in excess of statutory authority, it did not rule on plaintiffs' allegations that the regulations are arbitrary and capricious and abridge the constitutional privacy rights of mature minors. See id. at 669 n. 19. On March 2, 1983 the court found that plaintiffs were entitled to judgment as a matter of law and so filed a final order in the case, making its injunction permanent. See id. at 670 (final judgment on cross-motions for summary judgment). 20

III. ANALYSIS

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