Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding


What happened
The Supreme Court Thursday ruled that Planned Parenthood and one of its clients cannot sue South Carolina over its push to withhold Medicaid funds from the group under a 2018 executive order from Gov. Henry McMaster (R). The court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines in the case, Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, with the three liberal justices dissenting.
Who said what
McMaster cited Planned Parenthood's abortion operations in ordering the state to withhold funds, but Thursday's ruling mentioned abortion "only in passing," focusing instead on the procedural question of whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue to enforce Medicare's provisions, The New York Times said. The decision nevertheless "made it easier for states to deny funding to Planned Parenthood," particularly given the Trump administration's "hostility to abortion rights."
Federal funds can't be used to pay for abortions, with rare exceptions, but Medicare can reimburse Planned Parenthood for its other services, like cancer screenings and birth control, under a provision that lets patients go to any qualified provider that will accept their insurance. The court's conservative majority acknowledged that part of the law but decided it "does not make it a right enforceable in court," The Associated Press said. That closed off Planned Parenthood's "primary court path to keeping Medicaid funding in place: patient lawsuits."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Because the decision blocked such lawsuits, Jezebel said, it would allow states to "'defund' providers simply because they provide gender-affirming care, or even birth control." Thursday's decision is "likely to result in tangible harm to real people," Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said in her dissenting opinion. It will deprive Medicaid patients of the "deeply personal freedom" to "decide who treats us at our most vulnerable."
What next?
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its "six final decisions" of the term today, The Washington Post said. The "major rulings" outstanding include "whether to limit nationwide injunctions," notably Trump's ban on birthright citizenship, and the "legality of requiring age verification to access online porn."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Sudoku hard: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland