Five Supreme Court justices rejected an appeals case from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to withhold Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood. As a result, two lower court rulings stay in place that block the states from stripping funds from the women’s reproductive health organization. Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the three dissenting judges, accused his colleagues of avoiding the case for political reasons.
CNN: Supreme Court Sides With Planned Parenthood In Funding Fight
The Supreme Court Monday rebuffed efforts by states to block funding to Planned Parenthood. It left in place two lower court opinions that said that states violate federal law when they terminate Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates who offer preventive care for low income women.It would have taken four justices to agree to hear the issue, and only three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — voted to hear the case. (de Vogue, 12/10)
NPR: Supreme Court Declines Key Planned Parenthood Case
The result is that people can continue to use Medicaid money for pregnancy-related Planned Parenthood services. Now, this is not for abortion-related services. Federal law prohibits people from using Medicaid money for abortion. But the court not taking up this case means that most states cannot, for now, effectively prohibit people from using Medicaid funds for other Planned Parenthood services, like screenings, ultrasounds and counseling. (Montanaro, 12/10)
The Associated Press: Justices Won’t Hear States’ Appeal Over Planned Parenthood
The court’s order reflected a split among its conservative justices and an accusation from Justice Clarence Thomas that his colleagues seemed to be ducking the case for political reasons. New Justice Brett Kavanaugh was among the justices who opted not to hear the case. (Sherman, 12/10)
NBC News: Supreme Court Gives Victory To Planned Parenthood In Medicaid Case
Medicaid patients in Kansas and Louisiana, two of the states that took action against Planned Parenthood, claimed the states violated Medicaid’s requirement that patients must be free to seek their health care from any qualified and willing provider. They sued, and lower federal courts found in their favor, entering injunctions that ordered those states to lift their bans. In declining to take up the states’ appeals, the Supreme Court’s action on Monday leaves those lower court victories for the Medicaid patients in place. (Williams, 12/10)
USA Today: Defunding Planned Parenthood? Supreme Court Won’t Hear Case
Similar defunding efforts have been blocked in Arizona and Indiana and are being contested in Ohio and Texas. Only in Arkansas has a federal court allowed the state to deny funds. (Wolf, 12/10)
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