(LifeSiteNews) — Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have filed their own lawsuit joining the effort to protect Planned Parenthood’s federal funding, led by Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
In July, President Donald Trump signed into law his controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB), a wide-ranging policy package that includes a one-year ban on federal tax dollars going through Medicaid to entities that provide abortions for reasons other than rape, incest, or supposed threats to the mother’s life.
Days later, Planned Parenthood sued, and U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani swiftly issued a temporary restraining order against the defunding provision, not only barring the administration from enforcing it but also “tak[ing] all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and time frames to Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its members; Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts; and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.” On Monday, Talwani extended her injunction.
The next day, the Democrat-controlled states filed their federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Joining Pennsylvania and the nation’s capital are California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
READ: Planned Parenthood kills ‘record’ number of babies: annual report
“Congress has conscripted the States to enforce its unconstitutional targeting of PPFA [Planned Parenthood Federation of America] and the Planned Parenthood health centers,” the suit argues. “Because Medicaid is a state-federal partnership in which the states administer claims from medical providers for Medicaid reimbursements, the states—not the federal government—would ultimately be required to ensure that the Planned Parenthood health centers are effectively excluded from federal funding under the Defund Provision.”
“And in so doing, Congress has also forced the States to harm themselves, by either 1) crippling the States’ medical healthcare 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,” it adds.
“Under longstanding federal law, federal funds may not be used to provide abortions, except in extremely narrow circumstances,” it continues (obfuscating the fact that funding abortion businesses’ non-abortion activities frees up more of their money from other sources for abortions). “Instead, the Defund Provision denies access to health centers that provide essential, lifesaving care, such as cancer screening and prevention, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI), and family planning services, all in the name of retribution for PPFA and Planned Parenthood health centers’ political advocacy.”
Planned Parenthood’s cancer screenings have significantly decreased in recent years, and the organization’s revenue primarily comes from abortion. And far from being “lifesaving,” many forms of contraception or “family planning” act as abortifacients and cause serious harm to women, among other harms. Moreover, Planned Parenthood heavily promotes and normalizes promiscuity, including to children, increasing the risk of sexual diseases.
READ: Planned Parenthood offers transgender hormones to minors at first appointment: undercover report
The suit also claims that the provision “violates the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and freedom of association” (despite the fact that Planned Parenthood does not merely advocate abortions but commits them), “and Article I’s prohibition on bills of attainder” (acts that punish individuals or groups without trial, despite the fact that ceasing to subsidize private entities is not punishment).
The previous injunction was widely criticized as legally illegitimate, even by some who favor legal abortion. Should the case reach the U.S. Supreme Court, the defunding language is expected to prevail.
Within weeks of returning to office, Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment (which forbids most federal funds from directly supporting elective abortions), reinstated the Mexico City Policy (which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for elective abortions abroad), and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending.
In March, the administration froze Title X “family planning” grants to nonprofits it said violated its executive orders on immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including Planned Parenthood affiliates in nine states.
Other Republicans have proposed standalone measures to fully cut off Planned Parenthood’s government funding: the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortion; and the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which disqualifies Planned Parenthood and its affiliates specifically. But they would require 60 votes to make it through the Senate.
