US Supreme Court to decide if states are allowed to defund Planned Parenthood
The United States Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will hear arguments in Kerr v. Planned Parenthood, a case that will determine whether states have the authority to defund Planned Parenthood.
Under federal law, the Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape or when “necessary to save the life of the woman,” though induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of preborn babies — is not medically necessary. Some states, however, allow state Medicaid funding to be used for all elective abortions, such as Connecticut, where the HUSKY Health Medicaid program covers abortions. HUSKY (funded by taxpayers) pays for 75% of the total abortions in the state.
Kerr v. Planned Parenthood stems from a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood patient Julie Edwards in South Carolina, who sued the state because her Medicaid coverage would not pay for her visits to Planned Parenthood for birth control. In 2018, Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order that cut off state funding from the abortion giant, as well as every abortion business in the state.
The Supreme Court announced today it will hear Kerr v Planned Parenthood, which will decide whether states have authority to de-fund Planned Parenthood as unqualified providers in the Medicaid program. Big news for the over a dozen States that have tried to get Big Abortion out
Edwards argued that McMaster’s order violated a provision of the Medicaid Act allowing patients eligible for Medicaid to receive care from a “qualified” provider of their choice. A federal appeals court sided with the state, allowing South Carolina to exclude Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program. The case then moved to the Fourth Circuit, which sided with Planned Parenthood.
Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom representing the state then filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking it to hear the case. They asked that the Supreme Court affirm that the Medicaid Act does not create a private right for Medicaid recipients to challenge a state’s decision to not allow a specific provider to receive Medicaid funding. The Supreme Court granted that petition, sending the case back to the Fourth Circuit for further consideration (affirming that a state may defund a specific provider). The Fourth Circuit, however, stuck with its original ruling, which said the state could not block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funding.
The case is now at the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear oral arguments in the spring.
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