U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani today issued an injunction blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to withhold Medicaid reimbursement payments to Planned Parenthood, according to reports by the Associated Press.
While Planned Parenthood is known as the largest provider of abortions in the U.S., the nonprofit health agency provides a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services for the LGBTQ+ community, including gender-affirming care, STI testing and treatment, HIV testing and prevention and more. Planned Parenthood also offers services including hormone therapy, wellness checks and cancer screenings for transgender and nonbinary patients as well as education, support and resources for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families.
Today’s order replaces Talwani’s preliminary injuction, issued last week, that blocked the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn’t provide abortion care or didn’t meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year. AP notes. Today’s ruling extends the temporary injunction indefinitely.
Judge Talwani’s original order “found that the policy retaliated against Planned Parenthood in violation of its First Amendment rights and could amount to an unconstitutional ‘legislative punishment,’” AP reports.
The injunction comes in a lawsuit filed earlier in July in response to a provision in Trump’s recently passed policy bill that imposed a one-year ban on state Medicaid patients to any health care nonprofit that offers abortions and received more than $800,00 in Medicaid funding in 2023.
Noting that federal law already prohibits use of Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, Judge Talwani said that provision was obviously designed to leverage Medicaid payments to force clinics into dropping abortion services. Adding that Planned Parenthood’s umbrella organization is active in political organizing, the judge said the provision could also threaten “expressive activity” such as advocating before Congress, supporting candidates and communicating with voters.
Judge Talwani also said that the disruption of Planned Parenthood’s other health services — such as family planning and testing for STIs — was ample justification for enjoining the provision.
— Tammye Nash