SCOTUS Rules States Can Block Funding To Planned Parenthood
South Carolina argued that any money to the family planning organization effectively supports abortion.
In a 6 to 3 ruling on June 26, the Supreme Court Ruled that states can bar Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, a move that Planned Parenthood says could force the closure of a third of its facilities, including in states where abortion is legal.
The case, Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, comes out of South Carolina where, in 2018, Governor Henry McMaster, told the state’s department of Health and Human Services to cease funding to Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid program. He argued that even though abortion is already excluded from Medicaid funding in South Carolina, any funding to Planned Parenthood supported abortion services. South Carolinian Julie Edwards, a Planned Parenthood patient who wanted to continue receiving gynecological care there, brought a lawsuit. SCOTUS ruled that she had no standing to do so.
The majority opinion, penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch, hinged on particular wording of the Medicaid Act, enacted by Congress. The law ensures that patients can obtain care from “any qualified provider.” SCOTUS argued that this language did not unequivocally reflect Congress’ “intent to confer individual rights,” and, therefore, did not give Edwards standing to sue.
In her dissent Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by the court’s “liberal” justices — Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — argued the move was antithetical to Congresses’ intention of allowing Medicaid patients to go to the doctor of their choice and “thwarts Congress’s will twice over: once, in dulling the tool Congress created for enforcing all federal rights, and again in vitiating one of those rights altogether.”
The ruling effectively clears the way for South Carolina to defund Planned Parenthood for any and all services — including cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and preventative care — as well as any other state who wishes to follow suit.
“Today, the Supreme Court once again sided with politicians who believe they know better than you, who want to block you from seeing your trusted health care provider and making your own health care decisions. And the consequences are not theoretical in South Carolina or other states with hostile legislatures,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America in a statement. “Patients need access to birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more. And right now, lawmakers in Congress are trying to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood as part of their long-term goal to shut down Planned Parenthood and ban abortion nationwide. Make no mistake, the attacks are ongoing and Planned Parenthood will continue to do everything possible to show up in communities across the country and provide care.”
The ruling comes on the heels of the Trump administration withholding millions in Title X funding from Planned Parenthood facilities. A majority Planned Parenthood health centers, 76%, are located in rural or medically underserved areas. For approximately 41% of patients, overwhelmingly at or below the federal poverty level, services from Planned Parenthood are their only source of medical care.
