Supreme Court Allows South Carolina to Stop Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood

The US Supreme Court has allowed South Carolina to remove Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program due to its status as an abortion provider. This decision may encourage other conservative states to defund the organization.

The case, Medina v Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, revolves around a 2018 executive order by South Carolina's governor, Henry McMaster, which prevented abortion clinics from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. Despite the reimbursements not being used for abortions, McMaster argued that funding these clinics indirectly supports abortion.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a patient, Julie Edwards, challenged McMaster's order, citing the 'free choice of provider' clause that allows Medicaid beneficiaries to choose their own qualified providers. Lower courts supported Planned Parenthood and Edwards, halting McMaster's order.

The Supreme Court did not directly address South Carolina's ability to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid. Instead, they ruled 6-3 that individuals do not have the right to sue if they believe their provider choice has been violated.

The decision, supported by the conservative justices, emphasized that such matters should be decided by elected representatives, not judges. The dissenting liberal justices warned of the potential consequences, making it harder to challenge states discriminating against controversial care like abortion.

This ruling is a win for anti-abortion groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, part of a broader effort to defund Planned Parenthood by removing it from Medicaid, where almost half of its 2.4 million annual patients rely on the program.

According to the source: The Guardian.