Supreme Court mulls whether states can cut Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in a case that could pave the way for states to deny Medicaid funds to abortion giant Planned Parenthood.

The case at hand, Medina v. Planned Parenthood, stems from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s 2018 order prohibiting the state’s abortion clinics from participating in Medicaid. Payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics “for any purpose” results “in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life,” the governor noted at the time.

A patient who uses Medicaid, Julie Edwards, and Planned Parenthood successfully sued the very same year, arguing that under federal Medicaid law, patients have the right to receive care from any qualified medical provider of their choice. Multiple appeals by the state eventually led to the present case before the Supreme Court.

“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund facilities that profit off abortion and distribute dangerous gender-transition drugs to minors,” Alliance Defending Freedom attorney John Bursch, who represented South Carolina before the Supreme Court, said in a statement provided to The Lion. “State officials should be free to determine that Planned Parenthood – a multi-billion-dollar activist organization – is not a real health care provider and is not qualified to receive taxpayer funding through Medicaid.” 

A large portion of Wednesday’s oral arguments centered around whether a Medicaid recipient can sue under Medicaid law to choose a health care provider. 

“Congress didn’t intend to allow Medicaid recipients to drag states into federal court to challenge those decisions – nor did Congress intend for federal courts to second-guess states’ decisions about which providers are qualified to receive Medicaid funding,” Bursch said. “We are urging the Supreme Court to restore the ability of states to steward limited public resources to best serve their citizens.” 

In addition to abortions, Planned Parenthood provides contraception, STD testing, and gender-transitioning treatments such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgery referrals. Although Planned Parenthood, under federal law, is supposed to use Medicaid funds only for non-abortion services, one former longtime employee has said its clinics would find “ways around that” and the Medicaid funds inevitably are used toward utilities, tests done in preparation for abortions, and meetings with women to discuss abortions. 

Although the case seemingly centers around a narrow legal question about Medicaid law, it has received national attention because of the ripple effects it could have for the abortion industry. If the Supreme Court sides with South Carolina, it is widely expected other Republican-led states will block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood clinics. 

Planned Parenthood, for its part, has claimed a decision in South Carolina’s favor would block people from “reproductive health care” and “people who are struggling to make ends meet will pay the price.”  

As abortion advocates have pointed to other services Planned Parenthood offers, some experts have pointed out the large majority of the clinics focus on abortion. 

“Abortions are the majority of the actual products and services offered by Planned Parenthood, $700 million a year goes to Planned Parenthood and a good portion of that is Medicaid funding,” Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Sarah Parshall Perry said in a video statement posted on X. “But the Medicaid Act doesn’t specify who is or is not a qualified provider. The governor of South Carolina decided that Planned Parenthood was not and because it lacks definition they were within their right to do so under federal law.”