The federal law prohibiting sex discrimination also bars colleges and universities from denying counseling and other services to abortion patients and contraception to all students 鈥� even in states where abortion is now severely restricted, the U.S. Education Department said Tuesday.

The , which clarifies the longstanding rules for federal Title IX funding that virtually all colleges and universities receive, comes as several states have moved to ban or greatly limit abortion. The federal insistence on compliance with the Title IX regulations appears to be in conflict with some state policies.

The University of Idaho, for example, issued a memo last month  not to provide reproductive health counseling or contraception in order to comply with a state law.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris singled out the University of Idaho during a public meeting of the White House Reproductive Rights Task Force on Tuesday.

鈥淭hey told university staff they could get in trouble just for talking or telling students about birth control,鈥� Biden said, referencing the memo. 鈥淔olks, what century are we in?鈥�

Idaho is among the 13 states where nearly all abortions are illegal following the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling in June that removed the nationwide right to an abortion, according to the reproductive rights policy research organization .

The Idaho Supreme Court  to hear oral arguments on the merits of three Idaho abortion laws.

The federal high court ruling 鈥渉as sown fear and confusion on our college campuses,鈥� Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said at the task force meeting.

Tuesday鈥檚 guidance was intended 鈥渢o remind schools of their obligations under Title IX,鈥� he added.

The department鈥檚 civil rights office  that a Utah community college violated Title IX by not making accommodations for a pregnant student and encouraging the student to drop a course because she was pregnant.

The University of Idaho memo said university employees could not provide patients with birth control or emergency contraception. The document referenced a 2021 law that bans public funding to 鈥減rocure, counsel in favor, refer to or perform an abortion.鈥�

Standard birth control can still be dispensed at student health facilities, whose workers are not employed by the university, according to the memo.

A spokeswoman for the university did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the Education Department guidance and Biden and Harris鈥� remarks.

Abortion bans have affected other health services, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. Women have been denied prescriptions to treat miscarriage or conditions like arthritis and there are 鈥渢hreats to contraception,鈥� including for college students, Jean-Pierre said.

Harris noted that 19th-century laws banning abortion in Arizona and Wisconsin have recently gone into effect.

Doctors testify

The White House task force outlined some dire consequences of state abortion bans.

In Wisconsin, the abortion ban is sending some patients to Minnesota and Illinois and leaving many who need care without access, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, a Green Bay OB-GYN, said.

And it鈥檚 had a chilling effect on abortion providers, who can now only perform an abortion when the mother鈥檚 life is at risk. But even the judgment required in that decision could scare doctors from performing a medically necessary procedure, she said.

鈥淧regnant people don鈥檛 have a warning light that comes on when they鈥檝e crossed that threshold,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n places like Sheboygan County, where the district attorney has specifically said that he will prosecute physicians, can I count on him to trust my clinical judgment?鈥�

Georgia OB-GYN Dr. Nisha Verma told the task force that she鈥檚 had to turn away patients with high-risk pregnancies or fetal abnormalities since that state鈥檚 six-week ban went into effect.

鈥淚magine looking someone in the eye and saying, 鈥業 have all the skills and the tools to help you. But our state鈥檚 politicians have told me I can鈥檛,鈥欌�� she said.

Appeal to Congress

Biden, Harris and Jean-Pierre all urged Congress to pass a law codifying a nationwide right to abortion.

鈥淚f there were a national law that was passed in the United States Congress to protect reproductive care, so-called (state) leaders could not ban abortion,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭hey could not criminalize providers. They could not limit access to contraception.鈥�

Biden added that congressional Republicans would seek a nationwide abortion ban, alluding to South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham鈥檚 bill  to enact such a ban.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

Two Ohio state House Republicans introduced legislation last week that would force school boards to disclose to parents all 鈥渟exually explicit content鈥� taught in the classroom.

At parents鈥� request, teachers would need to provide students with alternative instruction that doesn鈥檛 include this sexually explicit content.

The 鈥� introduced by Republicans Sara Carruthers and D.J. Swearingen 鈥� defines sexually explicit content as any description of or any picture, drawing, film, image, or 鈥渟imilar visual representation鈥� depicting sexual conduct.

The sponsors refused to specify聽what precisely they鈥檙e trying inform parents of that鈥檚 occurring in the classrooms.

The legislation also requires boards of education to notify students of any 鈥渃hange in the student鈥檚 services or monitoring鈥� regarding their mental, emotional, or physical health and well-being. Likewise, it prohibits school personnel from 鈥渄irectly or indirectly encouraging鈥� a student to withhold information from their parents regarding their mental or emotional health.

The legislation continues a pattern of Republican legislation on a state and national level seeking to restrict what鈥檚 taught in classrooms, especially as it relates to race relations, American history, gender, and sexual identity.

鈥淚 think the real issue here is just how vague the term 鈥榮exually explicit content鈥� is,鈥� said Kathryn Poe, a public policy and digital communications manager with Equality Ohio, which advocates for LGBTQ interests.

Poe noted the bill makes no exception for health, biology or anatomy classes. The bill鈥檚 real point, Poe said, is to use the legislation鈥檚 vague language to chill speech about gender and sexuality in classrooms under guise of parental rights.

鈥淲e know who will be called out here 鈥� it鈥檚 LGBT people,鈥� she said.

The newly introduced bill in Ohio is largely a copy of similar legislation recently in Virginia and Missouri. In Missouri, NPR the legislation goes as far as to criminalize teachers and librarians providing sexually explicit material to students, leaving librarians pulling books off the shelves to comply. A similar law passed the Pennsylvania Senate earlier this summer, to the Pennsylvania Capital Star.

Organizations representing the LGBTQ community in other states have also protested the legislation, arguing the laws are a means of marginalizing gay and lesbian voices and experiences in classrooms.

Some 36 states have introduced 137 bills designed to restrict teaching about race, gender, U.S. history and sexual identity, according to a from PEN America, which advocates for the freedom of expression in literature.聽Seven became law this year, and another 12 became law last year.

In Ohio, Republicans introduced , which forbids educators from teaching certain 鈥渄ivisive concepts鈥� mostly related to race in America, past and present. Another, , includes the 鈥榙ivisive concept鈥� provisions but expands the proposal to also prohibit the teaching of 鈥渟exual orientation or gender identity鈥� until it鈥檚 鈥渁ge appropriate鈥� (a point in time not specified by the legislation). Neither have passed as of yet.

The recent bill鈥檚 sponsors declined to specify what kinds of purported sexually explicit conduct or changes in student health monitoring they鈥檙e seeking to inform parents of. Instead, in a statement through an aide, they both said the legislation would bring teachers and parents together to 鈥渇oster involvement.鈥�

The General Assembly is set to return after the November elections to wrap up its legislative work before the term ends.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .