A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's effort to stop Medicaid dollars from flowing to Planned Parenthood in 22 states, according to the district court order filed Tuesday.
The ruling halts enforcement of a Republican-backed provision designed to prevent taxpayer dollars from indirectly subsidizing abortion providers, as described in the court's written opinion.
Supporters of Trump's plan noted in the court record that while Medicaid is barred by the Hyde Amendment from funding abortions directly, its reimbursements for other services help sustain Planned Parenthood's nationwide abortion infrastructure.
The fight continues a decades-long funding clash that began after Congress first adopted the Hyde Amendment in 1976, a restriction upheld by the Supreme Court in its Harris v. McRae decision, in which the court allowed states to refuse Medicaid coverage for most abortions.
Despite Hyde's limits, Democrat and Republican administrations alike allowed federal reimbursements for Planned Parenthood's non-abortion services, a practice repeatedly criticized in congressional testimony by conservative lawmakers who argued the money still supported the organization's broader abortion operation.
The legal tide shifted in June when the Supreme Court issued its Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic ruling, a decision reported by Reuters in which the court held that Medicaid recipients cannot sue to force a state to keep Planned Parenthood in the program.
That ruling reflected the court's post-Dobbs approach after its 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case widely covered by national media in which the court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and returned regulatory power to the states.
Because the Supreme Court has repeatedly sided with states seeking to restrict abortion funding and access, legal analysts quoted in recent Reuters reporting said it is highly likely the Trump administration and Republican state officials will push this case toward the justices as well.
For conservatives, a Supreme Court review offers the possibility of firmly establishing states' authority to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion-linked groups, a goal Trump and his allies have promoted in policy speeches and legislative briefings.
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