Federal appellate court okays Planned Parenthood funding halt
A federal appellate court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that had stopped the Trump administration from halting funding for Planned Parenthood as required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo
A three-judge panel on Tuesday overturned an injunction that stopped the Trump administration from halting Medicaid funding for abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston placed a hold on U.S. District Court of Massachusetts Judge Indira Talwani’s order blocking a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that eliminated Medicaid funding for providers of tax-exempt abortion services.
Talwani agreed with arguments made by respective attorneys general for 22 states and the District of Columbia that challenged the funding block on Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers that also provide reproductive health and family planning services if they received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funding in 2023.
California, New York and Connecticut are the lead plaintiffs in the case, and a spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the appellate court’s ruling was disappointing but would not stop the state from “ensuring vulnerable Californians can access the healthcare they need,” The Guardian reported.
Officials for Planned Parenthood said the measure targeted it and forced the closure of 20 Planned Parenthood centers since the act took effect in July.
Without legal intervention, Planned Parenthood officials said they might close up to 200 centers that are located in states controlled by Democrats and that allow abortion services to be provided.
Talwani on Dec. 2 ruled the plaintiff states were likely to succeed in their case that claims the Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump targeted Planned Parenthood in the OBBBA with an ambiguous law.
She said the law does not clearly identify which healthcare organizations are affected and created a retroactive restriction on Planned Parenthood’s ability to participate in Medicaid programs intended to help low-income individuals and families.
Talwani ruled that the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services had approved the respective Medicaid plans for the 22 plaintiff states and the District of Columbia and that the law created a restriction that they did not anticipate.
The appellate court’s panel disagreed and said Congress has the authority to make such changes and that the law is not ambiguous, which makes it likely the Trump administration would win the case on appeal.
Talwani and the three judges on the appellate court panel that ruled against her order were appointed by presidents who were Democrats.
The same appellate court earlier overturned a prior ruling by Talwani that favored Planned Parenthood and the same 22 states and the District of Columbia.
That lawsuit was filed in the summer and argued that the new law violated the Constitution by intentionally punishing Planned Parenthood over its political views.
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest provider of abortion services, which are provided through some 600 facilities that serve more than a million people.