Planned Parenthood Takes Legal Action to Protect Medicaid Funding

Planned Parenthood has launched a major legal battle against the Trump administration, filing a lawsuit Monday to challenge a new law that threatens to cut off Medicaid funding for its health centers nationwide.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Boston, argues that the provision tucked into President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill is not only punitive but also unconstitutional. According to Planned Parenthood, the law singles out its clinics because of their advocacy for reproductive health and abortion rights.

The true design of the Defund provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood for its role in the debate over abortion,” the organization stated.

The stakes are high. Planned Parenthood warned that nearly 200 of its roughly 600 clinics could be forced to shut down if the policy takes effect. This could impact over 1 million people who rely on its health centers every year for services ranging from birth control to cancer screenings to testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

The lawsuit comes just days after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, allowed South Carolina to block Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood, saying federal law did not give the group the right to sue in that case.

In response to the lawsuit, Judge Indira Talwani issued a 14-day temporary restraining order preventing the policy from taking effect, and she set a mid-July deadline for the Department of Health and Human Services to respond.

The policy bars Medicaid funding to any entity that provides abortion services or receives over $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in fiscal year 2023. While the parent organization, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, does not itself provide abortions or receive Medicaid funds, it argued that the law was carefully written to target its network of affiliated clinics, even those that do not perform abortions.

“This case is about making sure patients who use Medicaid as their insurance can continue to get the care they need,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood. “No one should lose access to birth control, cancer screenings, or STI testing simply because of where they choose to get care.”

The clinics at risk are spread across 24 states, with most located in areas where abortion remains legal and reproductive health services are already in high demand.