Statement on State of Texas v. Becerra

Since December 2022, when the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued its ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, Every Body Texas has been consistent in our guidance to the network of agencies we fund.

While Every Body Texas fundamentally disagrees with the court’s judgment and believes that it ignores decades of established law, we have continued to advise our Title X network in Texas to require parental consent for contraceptive services for all minors.

Following the ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in this case on March 12, 2024, our guidance remained unchanged.

The lawsuit filed by the State of Texas against the Biden administration (State of Texas v. Becerra) on July 25, 2024, claims the current rule (42 C.F.R. § 59.10(b)) that prohibits Title X providers from requiring parental consent for minor patients violates Texas law and is in violation of the 5th circuit’s ruling. However, Title X grantees in Texas and other states in the Fifth Circuit, including Every Body Texas, have been exempt from this rule since March 22, 2024 when the Office of Population Affairs at HHS issued official guidance. The agency’s guidance stated that “OPA will not be enforcing 42 C.F.R. § 59.10(b) in the State of Texas, nor will it enforce that regulation elsewhere in the fifth circuit to the extent it conflicts with state law.”

“While we fundamentally disagree with the opinions in Deanda v. Becerra, we have complied with the court’s rulings and continue to advise our clinics to require parental consent for their minor clients. Minors have been unable to access confidential contraceptive care in our network of Title X clinics for more than 18 months, with no end in sight,” said Kathie Nixon, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Every Body Texas.

“Title X encourages young people to involve a parent or guardian in their healthcare decision-making, but unfortunately not all teens have a trusted adult with whom they can have those important conversations, and they turn to their healthcare provider. This new lawsuit from the state of Texas does nothing to change or improve the reality on the ground for the most vulnerable young people in our communities.”

For more information, or media requests, contact Mimi Garcia at mimi.garcia@everybodytexas.org.