Politics AbortionA Federal Judge Just Dealt a Blow to RFK Jr.'s Strategy to Defund Planned Parenthood Kimberly Crusie , Associated Press Kimberly Crusie , Associated Press
Missouri and U.S. flags fly outside a Planned Parenthood office in St. Louis, June 24, 2022. Jeff Roberson — AP Photo
A federal judge ruled Monday that Planned Parenthood clinics across the country must continue to receive Medicaid reimbursement as the nation's largest abortion provider battles President Donald Trump's administration over efforts to deprive the organization of funding in his signature tax law.
The new order replaces a previous order issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last week. Talwani initially issued a preliminary injunction barring the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members who did not provide abortion services or did not meet the threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year.
“Patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences if health care is interrupted or unavailable,” Talwani wrote in her ruling released Monday. “In particular, restricting members of parliament’s ability to provide health care risks increasing the number of unintended pregnancies and related complications due to reduced access to effective contraception, as well as increasing rates of undiagnosed and untreated STIs.”
A provision in Trump's tax bill would require the federal government to stop Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers who received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, even to organizations like Planned Parenthood that also offer health services like contraception, pregnancy tests and STD testing.
Although Planned Parenthood is not named in the law that took effect July 4, its leaders say it was intended to affect its nearly 600 centers in 48 states. But a major medical center in Maine and likely others were also affected.
In her ruling Monday, Talwani said the court “does not prohibit the federal government from regulating abortion or require the federal government to fund elective abortions or any health care services that are not otherwise covered by Medicaid.” Instead, Talwani said her ruling would prevent the federal government from excluding organizations like Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursement if they have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success in their lawsuit.
In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood argued that it would face the closure of nearly 200 clinics in 24 states if Medicaid funding were cut off, estimating that more than a million patients would lose care.
“We are suing the Trump administration for this targeted attack on Planned Parenthood health centers and the patients who rely on their services,” Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said Monday. “This case is about ensuring that patients who use Medicaid as insurance for birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health centers, and we will make that clear in court.”
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its member organizations in Massachusetts and Utah.
The Federal Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The department previously said it strongly disagreed with the judge's initial ruling, which allowed some Planned Parenthood members to receive Medicaid funding.
“States should not be forced to fund organizations that choose political propaganda over patient care,” said Andrew Nixon, the department’s communications director. He said it “undermines government agility” and “calls into question government accountability.”
Medicaid is a government health care program that serves millions of low-income and disabled people in the United States. Nearly half of Planned Parenthood's patients use Medicaid.
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