The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that South Carolina can stop Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
The decision could lead other conservative states to do the same.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case called Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
South Carolina can stop Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds
Highlights
- The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Medicaid patients cannot sue states over provider choices, allowing South Carolina to cut Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funding.
- South Carolina's 2018 order bars Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, even for non-abortion services such as cancer screenings.
- The ruling could prompt other conservative states to stop Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood, deepening health inequities and limiting access to reproductive care.
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In 2018, South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, signed an executive order stating that clinics providing abortions—such as Planned Parenthood—could no longer be reimbursed by Medicaid, even for non-abortion services like cancer screenings and contraception.
Although the order was issued in 2018, Planned Parenthood continued to treat Medicaid patients in South Carolina under court injunctions while the policy was challenged in the courts.
But the new Supreme Court ruling has now effectively blocked Planned Parenthood from receiving any Medicaid reimbursements.
Medicaid is a government health program that helps low-income Americans pay for medical care.
“Payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life,” McMaster said at the time.
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Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, abortions have been banned in South Carolina after the first six weeks of pregnancy.
In a court case related to the 2018 Medicaid order, a patient named Julie Edwards sued the state. They argued that Medicaid recipients have the right to choose any qualified provider.
This is part of a federal rule called the “free choice of provider” clause.
Lower courts agreed with Planned Parenthood and blocked the governor’s order in an injunction in 2018.
But the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and did not rule on whether South Carolina’s move was legal; it assessed whether people on Medicaid can sue the state when their rights under the program are violated.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court said they cannot.
Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion, stating that allowing such lawsuits poses “delicate questions of public policy.”
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He said decisions about enforcing new statutory rights should be left to elected lawmakers, not judges.
The court’s three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the majority.
Justice Jackson wrote a strong dissent, saying the ruling weakened the Civil Rights Act of 1871, a law meant to protect people from government abuse.
She said that the decision strips people of their ability to choose their healthcare provider.
Reproductive rights advocates also sharply criticized the decision.
Jennifer Driver of the State Innovation Exchange called it “a direct attack on reproductive health care” and a “dangerous green light for politicians to target any providers they don’t like.”
“This ruling will deepen health inequities, strip people of their freedom to choose, and put basic services like birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing further out of reach,” she told The Guardian.
Planned Parenthood has committed to continuing its services in Southern California, including providing care covered by Medicaid.
Paige Johnson, head of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, called the decision “a grave injustice.”
“Twice, justices of this Court denied to even hear this case because Governor McMaster's intent is clear: weaponize anti-abortion sentiment to deprive communities with low incomes of basic health care,” she said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood said it will continue providing care covered by Medicaid
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Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the decision fits into a broader strategy to shut down Planned Parenthood and ban abortion nationwide.
“Currently, 20% of South Carolinians—over 1 million—receive health care services through the Medicaid program, and approximately 5% of those recipients sought sexual and reproductive health care services at PPSAT so far this year,” she said.
Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson was among those who praised the ruling.
"This is about who runs South Carolina–our elected leaders or out-of-state activists and unelected judges. We're glad the court got it right," Wilson said.
The court’s decision reversed earlier rulings by a district judge and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, both of which had sided with Planned Parenthood.
Now, South Carolina is free to remove the organization from its Medicaid program.
This ruling is a big win for conservative groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, which helped South Carolina defend its position.
It’s also another step in the push by Republican-led states to cut public funding for Planned Parenthood, especially since the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Adding to that momentum, House Speaker Mike Johnson recently announced that President Donald Trump’s upcoming economic legislation will include provisions to defund Planned Parenthood nationwide.
This ruling will pave the path for other states to also stop Planned Parenthood from receiving funds
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Speaking at a gala for the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Johnson said Republicans are preparing “one big, beautiful bill” that will “redirect funds away from big abortion and to federally qualified health centers.”
This marks the first time since Trump returned to office that GOP leadership has formally pledged to cut all federal support for Planned Parenthood.
Johnson said funding would be redirected to “pregnancy resource centers,” which are often religiously affiliated clinics that discourage abortion.
Planned Parenthood also provides prenatal and postpartum services, along with physical exams, contraception services like birth control, STI testing, and screenings for cancer and other health conditions.
Planned Parenthood serves around 2.4 million people across the U.S. Nearly half of them rely on Medicaid.