Supreme Court to Review South Carolina’s Defund Planned Parenthood Efforts
The Supreme Court is set to evaluate whether Medicaid users can select their healthcare providers.
WASHINGTON − On Wednesday, the Supreme Court announced it will examine South Carolina’s attempts to cut off Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, adding to the ongoing debate surrounding abortion in more conservative states.
The justices decided to review a ruling from a lower court that stated Medicaid patients have the right to select their healthcare providers.
While Planned Parenthood cannot receive public funding for abortion services, conservative states argue that the organization should be entirely defunded from all government funding.
“Taxpayer money must not be used to support organizations profiting from abortions,” remarked John Bursch, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Jenny Black, the leader of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, criticized the case, calling it “politics at its worst.”
She accused anti-abortion legislators of “misusing their authority to target Planned Parenthood and deny Medicaid users vital healthcare services such as cancer screenings and birth control.”
In 2018, South Carolina’s Governor Henry McMaster prohibited abortion clinics from offering contraceptive services, cancer screenings, or other health care to Medicaid recipients.
Following that, Planned Parenthood and one of its patients filed a lawsuit.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, ruled against the state, affirming that Medicaid patients are entitled to “freely choose from among eligible healthcare providers, including Planned Parenthood.”
South Carolina has urged the Supreme Court to reconsider that determination, labeling it “a pressing issue of significant national concern.”
Defunding Planned Parenthood is not only a concern for conservative states.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, figures involved in President-elect Donald Trump’s spending cut initiatives, have also targeted the health care provider.
The case, known as Kerr v. Planned Parenthood, is anticipated to be resolved by summer.
