Topline
A federal judge temporarily blocked the government from enforcing a provision of President Donald Trump’s megabill that would have prevented Medicaid from reimbursing Planned Parenthood—a move the reproductive health group said would amount to “defunding.”
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the law in a Massachusetts federal court Monday.
Key Facts
The provision in Trump’s megabill puts a one-year ban on Medicaid from reimbursing organizations that provide abortions and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in FY2023—requirements Planned Parenthood says were “specifically drafted to target Planned Parenthood Members.”
Planned Parenthood sued the Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a Massachusetts federal court Monday, arguing the government has “no legitimate justification for the statute; rather, the true design of the Defund Provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood, which plays a particularly prominent role in the public debate over abortion.”
Planned Parenthood said the law was a “naked attempt to leverage the government’s spending power” to single their organization out, and accused it of violating its members’ First Amendment rights to free association.
The organization said in a statement Monday the law would have “devastating consequences for the more than 1 million patients who use Medicaid as their insurance at Planned Parenthood.”
District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order Monday evening, ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to “take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes.”
What To Watch For
Talwani’s temporary restraining order lasts for 14 days. The federal judge also asked HHS to file any objections in the next two weeks to a longer injunction, Reuters reported.
Key Background
Monday’s lawsuit marks the first major court movement by the nation’s highest-profile reproductive rights organization since a Supreme Court defeat in June. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled Planned Parenthood could not sue South Carolina after the state banned Planned Parenthood from accessing Medicaid funds, even for non-abortion services.
