Federal Court Deals Crushing Blow to Planned Parenthood, Upholds Trump’s Medicaid Funding Ban
Federal Court Deals Crushing Blow to Planned Parenthood, Upholds Trump’s Medicaid Funding Ban
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a key provision of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and domestic policy package that blocks Planned Parenthood affiliates performing abortions from receiving Medicaid funding.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston overturned a July ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who had found the law likely unconstitutional because it appeared to punish Planned Parenthood for providing abortion services.
Planned Parenthood says at least 20 health centers have closed since Trump signed the measure into law in July. The appeals court allowed the funding ban to take effect in September while it reviewed the case.
Talwani also blocked enforcement of the law in a separate lawsuit brought by 22 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., but that ruling has been temporarily stayed while the 1st Circuit weighs whether to lift her injunction.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Alexis McGill Johnson condemned Friday’s ruling, saying it enables the Trump administration’s attempt to “block access to care for patients most in need and force Planned Parenthood health centers to the financial brink.”
The contested provision, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by the GOP-controlled Congress, bars Medicaid funding for nonprofits providing family-planning services if they perform abortions and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements during the 2023 fiscal year.
Talwani initially ruled the measure functioned as an unconstitutional “bill of attainder,” a legislative punishment imposed without a trial. But Judge Gustavo Gelpí, writing for the appellate panel, said the law does not meet the historical definition of punishment and instead reflects Congress’ spending authority.
Gelpí wrote that Congress is allowed to force organizations to choose between continuing abortion services without Medicaid funds or ending such services to keep receiving federal reimbursement.
Talwani had also found that the law burdened the First Amendment rights of Planned Parenthood affiliates that do not provide abortions. The appeals court rejected that view, narrowing the law’s application to affiliates operating under direct corporate control with entities barred from funding.
