A federal judge has partially blocked a provision of President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” defunding Planned Parenthood of taxpayer dollars through Medicaid.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, first issued a temporary restraining order against the provision earlier this month, and on Monday, she issued a partial preliminary injunction as litigation continues.
The order does not apply to all Planned Parenthood affiliates, but instead blocks the defunding provision for Planned Parenthood members who do not independently meet the provision’s “prohibited entity” definition: members that do not provide abortions because of state law or those who received less than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023, according to the organization.
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Planned Parenthood alleged in its lawsuit that Congress targeted Planned Parenthood out of other abortion providers in how it wrote the provision, which bars Medicaid funding for certain abortion organizations for one year. While the provision does not explicitly name Planned Parenthood, the organization is one of the only abortion provider that falls under the restrictions outlined in the bill.
Talwani said in her order that Planned Parenthood has “demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success” on its First Amendment claim on behalf of its affiliates who do not perform abortions or qualify financially, and on their equal protection claim “based on the burdening of their right of association, where the law’s classifications are not sufficiently tailored to stop elective abortions rather than advocacy.”
“Instead of merely prohibiting Planned Parenthood members that receive Medicaid funds from providing abortions, the statute prohibits them from affiliating with entities that do,” she wrote. “Moreover, the record is devoid of evidentiary support for defendants’ suggestion that Planned Parenthood entities share funds that are ultimately used for abortions.”
Planned Parenthood issued a statement in response to the order saying, “This isn’t over: ”
While we’re grateful that the court recognized the harm caused by this law, we’re disappointed that not all members were granted the necessary relief today. Patients across the country should be able to go to their trusted Planned Parenthood provider for birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment.
This is about patients and their right to get care — no matter their insurance. The court has not yet ruled on whether it will grant preliminary injunctive relief to other members. We remain hopeful that the court will grant this relief. There will be nothing short of a public health crisis if Planned Parenthood members are allowed to be ‘defunded.’
Planned Parenthood also argued in its lawsuit that having its Medicaid funding cut off would have “devastating effects” on the organization. Planned Parenthood has claimed that nearly 200 of its clinics are becoming “at risk of closure” because of the defunding measure.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) argued in its opposition to Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit that the abortion organization “has no right to taxpayer money” and the “court should not invent such a right.”
“The Court should uphold Congress’s lawful exercise of its authority to decide to whom it will entrust taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” the filing reads.
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