ABSTRACT
Rust v. Sullivan, 500 US 173 (1991), sits at the intersection of free speech, abortion rights, and the government's power to set conditions on grants of federal funds. At issue was an interpretation of Section 1008 of Title X of the Public Health Service Act of 1970, legislation designed to provide funding for family planning services. In a five-four decision written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, the US Supreme Court upheld the regulation. Arguing that the statute was ambiguous regarding the questions of abortion advocacy, referral, or counseling, the Court ruled that the secretary of health and human services was within his discretion in enacting the regulation, and the courts should defer to him. The dissenters in Rust argued that the regulation was a new interpretation of the statute, which had always been read as affecting only the practice of abortion.
