Blue states sue after GOP targets Planned Parenthood with Medicaid cuts

(CN) — A coalition of Democratic states on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over its efforts to defund Planned Parenthood clinics through the GOP’s tax legislation, which blocks the organization’s affiliates from receiving Medicaid payments.

In their 83-page lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, the states claim the legislation unconstitutionally punishes Planned Parenthood for its abortion advocacy, violating the organization’s First Amendment rights and threatening the health of the millions of Americans who use the group’s clinics for health care.

The states pinpointed the “defund provision” in the GOP’s new tax package, referred to broadly as the “Big Beautiful Bill” by President Donald Trump and his allies. That provision “eliminates the use of federal funds for any health care obtained at Planned Parenthood health centers,” the coalition claims.

“The defund provision will prevent Planned Parenthood health centers from providing health care to millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for their essential healthcare needs,” the states say in the complaint.

Abortions are generally not eligible to receive federal funding, except in rare situations, despite unfounded claims by politicians and anti-abortion activists.

While Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the country, the Medicaid payments received by their clinics go towards other forms of health care, including cancer screenings, physical exams, vasectomies, colonoscopies and other services.Because of this, the states argue that the defund provision will preclude patients from receiving care beyond abortions. In the process, they claim it will also kneecap their local health departments, which will be forced to pick up the slack.

“Congress has also forced the states to harm themselves, by either 1) crippling the states’ medical health care ecosystems as Planned Parenthood health centers close or reduce hours and services, thereby increasing the states’ long-term medical care costs, or 2) using the states’ own funds to keep those health centers operating — and thereby foregoing matching federal funds,” the coalition claims.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the lawsuit at a Monday press conference, where he referred to the scrutinized tax legislation as the “big ugly bill” and the “big hurtful, hateful, damaging bill.”

“As an American, I am not proud that we have to stand here over and over again to protect basic rights, health care, peoples’ lives,” Tong said, lambasting Republicans for championing the overturning of Roe v. Wade . “Haven’t you done enough damage? And now you just want to single out one organization that provides health care to thousands of Connecticut patients and families?”

Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration over the same issue in March. The organization won a preliminary injunction this week that ordered Medicaid funding be restored to Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide.

In that case, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found that the defund provision is likely unconstitutional and appears to contradict Republicans’ own goals regarding abortion.

“Decreased access to contraceptives and the corresponding increase in the number of unintended pregnancies caused by excluding Planned Parenthood members from Medicaid will likely result in an increased number of abortions,” the Barack Obama appointee wrote in a Monday ruling.

The states’ lawsuit could provide another barrier of protection to preserve Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid payments. Without that cash, the organization estimates that it could be forced to shutter nearly 200 clinics in 24 states, cutting off care for the more than 1 million people it serves every year.

“The federal government is once again playing politics with our health care system, with devastating consequences,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement announcing Tuesday’s suit. “This administration’s shameful and illegal targeting of Planned Parenthood will make it harder for millions of people to get the health care they need.”

California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state and Wisconsin joined In addition to New York and Connecticut as plaintiffs in Tuesday’s lawsuit.

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