SAN FRANCISCO, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Governor Jay Inslee of the U.S. State of Washington on Thursday criticized a decision by a federal court of appeals that supports President Donald Trump's policy over abortion.

In a joint statement with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Inslee slammed the decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which allows Trump's administration to enforce a policy that prohibits American women from receiving abortion operations at federally-funded clinics.

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals gave green light to the U.S. government to go ahead with a controversial rule to ban Title X recipients from performing abortion as a method of family planning.

The Trump government unveiled in February this year its final rule imposing sweeping changes to the national family planning program, known as Title X, but the policy, which critics also called "gag rule," has been challenged by more than 20 states and several civil rights groups in lawsuits field in the states of California, Oregon and Washington.

Inslee and Ferguson asserted that Thursday's ruling by the Ninth Circuit judges is not a decision on whether President Trump's gag rule is lawful, or a final decision on the federal government's appeal of the preliminary injunction.

"This decision threatens to imperil healthcare for millions, including tens of thousands in Washington State. But we're not done fighting this dangerous and immoral rule," Inslee said.

He vowed to take "every action necessary" to protect women's access to safe and legal reproductive healthcare.

"No court and no presidential administration will stop us from ensuring reproductive freedom is preserved in our state," Inslee noted.

Ferguson said he will take immediate action to challenge the decision by the San Francisco Court of Appeals.

"Unless overturned, this flawed decision will hurt Washington women, especially low-income women in rural Washington," he said.

As an outspoken critic of the gag rule, Ferguson filed in March 2019 a motion to ask the federal court to block restrictions imposed by the controversial gag rule.

Ferguson has said that the gag rule, if not blocked, will leave 21 Washington counties without a Title X provider, which would force some Washingtonians to travel hundreds of miles to receive family planning care.

According to the Washington Attorney General's Office, 91,284 patients received care through Title X in Washington State in 2017. More than half of these patients were at or below the federal poverty line.