Supreme Court ruling on Planned Parenthood reduces Medicaid access, critics say
The justices ruled that states can withhold Medicaid funds from the group. Conservatives want to defund the group because it provides abortions, but critics say it will be harder for women to get cancer screenings and other care.
Planned Parenthood clinics in some states could be on the cusp of losing Medicaid funding, thanks to a Supreme Court ruling Thursday.
The Supreme Court has issued a ruling that sets the stage for states to withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood. Critics say it will make it harder for some Medicaid patients to get care.
The high court found that a South Carolina resident can’t sue the state for excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding. The conservative majority held in the 6-3 ruling.
The decision sets the stage for states to withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, an assessment shared by those delighted and disgusted by the ruling. It comes as some Republicans are pushing to defund Planned Parenthood in the tax bill, which the group has said would lead to the closure of 200 clinics.
Conservatives have sought to defund Planned Parenthood because its clinics provide abortions, although federal funds can’t be used for abortions. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster hailed the ruling.
"The legality of my executive order prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood has been affirmed by the highest court in the land,” McMaster said in a statement.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, hailed it on X: “Tremendous news for LIFE.” In a separate post on X, he wrote, “Defund Planned Parenthood now!”
Planned Parenthood supporters said that the group’s clinics provide services including cancer screenings and contraception, and some of its patients go to Planned Parenthood clinics because they are the nearest provider.
Lawrence Gostin, co-faculty director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, said the ruling “legitimizes conservative states’ attacks on facilities that provide abortion.”
“Planned Parenthood provides essential health services such as cancer screening and contraception to largely underserved populations,” Gostin said in a statement. “Allowing states to block the organization’s receipt of Medicaid dollars will severely narrow the pool of providers available to serve Medicaid patients — resulting in poorer health outcomes and wider health disparities.”
Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Minnesota Democrat who is also a physician, blasted the ruling in a post on X
“I’m a doctor. I’ve delivered babies, diagnosed cancers, prescribed birth control, treated infections. And today’s Supreme Court decision terrifies me,” Morrison wrote.
“Trump’s Supreme Court just ruled that states can cut off Medicaid patients from Planned Parenthood,” she wrote. “That means they can cut off access to lifesaving screening, treatment, and care to millions of women across the country.”
Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a post on X, “Thousands of people rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings and pap smears, STI testing, and so many more essential services. Women should not be penalized for needing reproductive health care.”
Planned Parenthood says its health centers served more than 2 million patients in 2022, and provided more than 4.6 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases. The group said its clinics provided nearly 213,000 breast exams and nearly 198,000 Pap tests in 2022.
Some Democratic governors vowed to ensure Planned Parenthood receives Medicaid funds. Citing the ruling and the possibility of states cutting off Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said, “As long as I'm your Governor, this will never happen in Pennsylvania.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, panned the court’s ruling in a post on X.
“Let’s be real: this ain’t about ‘protecting life,’” she said. “It’s about weaponizing poverty and race to strip away care, choice, and dignity from communities that dare to seek basic care in a system already built to fail them.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling comes three years after the justices ruled that abortion is not a constitutional right, allowing states to pass laws barring abortion. Hospitals and doctors have said the ruling has led to state laws that don’t make it clear when physicians can intervene and provide abortions in emergencies.
