The Supreme Court has announced its decision to consider South Carolina’s effort to halt Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, following the landmark ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The court’s agreement to hear South Carolina’s appeal centers on whether Medicaid recipients have the right to litigate their choice of healthcare providers. This contentious issue will be argued in the Supreme Court during the spring session.
In 2018, South Carolina opted to defund Planned Parenthood, which utilizes Medicaid for family planning and healthcare services rather than abortion procedures. Gov. Henry McMaster argues that any state funding to Planned Parenthood indirectly supports abortion, despite Medicaid funding being restricted to cases where the woman’s life is at risk or if the pregnancy is due to rape or incest.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously blocked South Carolina’s move, supporting Planned Parenthood and a patient who filed the challenge. The ruling emphasized that federal law allows Medicaid users to select their healthcare providers and to initiate lawsuits when necessary. Planned Parenthood’s services include birth control, cancer screenings, and STD testing, among others, and its clinics in South Carolina serve several hundred Medicaid patients annually.
South Carolina enforces a law that prohibits abortion beyond approximately six weeks of pregnancy, with few exceptions. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to rescind nationwide abortion protections in 2022, many Republican-majority states have increased abortion restrictions.
John Bursch, representing South Carolina through the Alliance Defending Freedom, insists the state should allocate its funding to care that affirms life. He notes that conflicting rulings from different appeals courts make the Supreme Court’s intervention crucial. Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, argues that its affiliates deliver vital medical services to low-income communities, asserting that the legal framework clearly grants patients the right to challenge any obstruction to their healthcare access.
Jenny Black, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, criticized the case as a politically motivated attack. She asserted that everyone deserves access to quality and affordable healthcare from providers they trust.
As the Supreme Court prepares to hear this pivotal case, the outcome could significantly impact Medicaid patients’ rights and the availability of healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood across the United States.
Source: News4jax
