Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Efforts To Defund Planned Parenthood

A Massachusetts district judge blocked the Trump administration on Monday from effectively defunding Planned Parenthood for a year.

Judge Indira Talwani ruled that the withholding of Medicaid funds possibly violated the First Amendment’s right of association, according to court documents. The case stems from a provision in Trump’s tax bill that eliminates Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023 for one year, regardless of the other services the provider offered.

“The court’s order does not require the federal government to spend money not already appropriated for Medicaid or any other funds,” Talwani wrote. “Instead, this order grants preliminary relief that prevents Defendants from targeting a specific group of entities — Planned Parenthood Federation Members — for exclusion from reimbursements under the Medicaid program where Plaintiffs have established a substantial likelihood that they will succeed in establishing that such targeted exclusion violated the United States Constitution, and where Plaintiffs satisfy the remaining requirements to obtain a preliminary injunction.”

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah filed a joint lawsuit against Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), following the passage of Trump’s tax bill.

“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” an HHS spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care. This ruling undermines state flexibility and disregards longstanding concerns about accountability.”

Planned Parenthood did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

Talwani previously issued a preliminary injunction against Trump’s tax bill last week, barring Medicaid cuts from Planned Parenthood locations that do not provide abortions or do not receive at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements.

Planned Parenthood claimed the Medicaid cuts in the tax bill would seriously impact the abortion centers, potentially forcing them to shutter many of their doors.

“If Planned Parenthood is ‘defunded,’ nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers in 24 states across the country are at risk of closure, leaving 1.1 million patients without access to health care,” Planned Parenthood said in a statement in June. “The bill would also decimate abortion access, as most health center courses would occur in states where abortion is legal and protected.”

Planned Parenthood permanently closed five California locations last week due to a lack of funding, citing Trump’s tax bill, according to ABC7 News. Two Houston locations also announced last week that they will close in the upcoming months, according to the Houston Chronicle.

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