TRENTON, NJ – The state of New Jersey, under Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin, is at it again. They are suing President Donald Trump again. This is approximately the 24th lawsuit the state has filed against the President since taking office the first time in 2017.
New Jersey joins 21-state coalition urging reversal of federal Title X funding cuts
TRENTON, NJ — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has joined 20 other state attorneys general in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse a decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withhold tens of millions in Title X funding, according to a letter released Thursday.
The letter, addressed to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., warns that the funding cuts will jeopardize access to reproductive and preventive health services for low-income and uninsured individuals nationwide. Title X is the only federal program in the United States specifically dedicated to family planning services.
“Withholding Title X funding puts at risk the health of low-income individuals across the country,” Platkin said in a statement. “These misguided actions directly harm poor and rural communities.”
HHS began issuing notices on March 31 to multiple grant recipients indicating that their Title X funding would be halted. These recipients are responsible for nearly 25% of the program’s clinic network, according to the attorney general’s office.
The letter notes that some states, including California, Hawai‘i, and Maine, have already lost all Title X funding, while others, including New Jersey, are at risk of similar cuts. The coalition argues that without immediate federal intervention, clinics will close, providers will be terminated, and patients will lose access to essential services.
Attorneys general cite public health risks and urge federal restoration
The attorneys general emphasized the broader impact of the funding cut, pointing to historical data from 2019 when a previous change to Title X rules led to a 60% drop in patients served—from 3.9 million to 1.5 million. The current cuts, they said, threaten to replicate that decline and strain state resources.
The Guttmacher Institute estimates that 834,000 patients, or roughly 30% of those typically served by Title X, could lose access to care within a year of the funding reduction. Services affected include STI testing, cancer screenings, and prenatal care—especially critical in areas where Title X clinics are the sole providers.
The letter also rejects HHS’s justification that grantees may have violated civil rights laws, stating there is no evidence to support such claims.
The coalition includes attorneys general from states such as California, Illinois, Maryland, and New York. They are urging HHS to immediately reinstate the funding and prevent what they warn would be a public health crisis in already underserved communities.