Supreme Court Backs South Carolina in Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of South Carolina in its effort to defund Planned Parenthood. The court held in a 6-3 ruling that individual Medicaid patients cannot sue to enforce their right to choose a medical provider. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing the opinion, stated that the federal law does not allow such claims against the state. This decision prevents Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding, as it stops patients from choosing their preferred healthcare provider.

Conservatives have targeted Planned Parenthood for funding, arguing that even non-abortion related funding supports its abortion-related agenda. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, stating that the ruling undermines civil rights laws. South Carolina's efforts to defund Planned Parenthood were supported by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

South Carolina now has a six-week abortion ban, making abortions rare in the state. Planned Parenthood facilities in Charleston and Columbia comply with the law, providing abortion care along with other health services. In 2018, Gov. Henry McMaster issued an order prohibiting Planned Parenthood South Atlantic from offering family planning services under Medicaid.

Julie Edwards, a Medicaid-eligible patient, joined a lawsuit to enforce her rights to use Planned Parenthood. After a federal judge ruled in her favor, the Supreme Court intervened to make the final decision.

According to the source: NBC News.