A court hearing is scheduled for Friday in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood against the Trump administration. The organization is suing the federal government over access to Medicare payments for abortions, cancer screenings, birth control, and more.
The funding was cut in legislation signed into law on July 4. Planned Parenthood argues that the change will have severe adverse effects on the health and welfare of at least one million patients. It says that roughly 200 Planned Parenthood centers are at risk of closing in 24 states if the funding cuts take effect.
The law gives states the ability to strip Medicaid funds from organizations that perform abortions. Medicaid rules stipulate that federal funds should not be spent on abortions. However, the organization provides other services for reproductive health.
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“This move is straight out of the Trump Administration’s playbook, and so it comes as no surprise. Nothing in this filing even addresses or disputes the harm to patients — it’s not hypothetical. We know what will happen if this provision is allowed to take effect again: People in need of basic care will be turned away, cancers will go undetected, and STIs will go untreated — all while our fragile public health system continues to crumble. President Trump and his allies in Congress simply don’t care," Planned Parenthood said in a statement.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month temporarily stopping the Trump administration from implementing the cuts.
KFF says that 11% of reproductive age women covered by Medicaid who received family planning services got their care at a Planned Parenthood clinic.
