Politics
JUST IN: SCOTUS Devastates Powerful Liberal Organization With 6-3 Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking ruling on Thursday, siding with the state of South Carolina amid its attempts to defund Planned Parenthood in a decision that carries national implications for the prominent abortion organization.
In a 6-3 decision that fell along ideological lines, the court’s majority agreed that Medicaid patients are not allowed to sue to enforce their preference for a medical provider. The federal law in dispute does not allow individuals to file claims against the government.
Conservative justices delivered a blow to Planned Parenthood, which had hoped to pick up significant funding through individuals receiving Medicaid benefits who sought treatment at its facilities.
“Congress knows how to give a grantee clear and unambiguous notice that, if it accepts federal funds, it may face private suits asserting an individual right to choose a medical provider,” Gorsuch wrote.
But he added, “That is not the law we have.”
Under the Hyde Amendment, federal funds may not be spent on abortion services, but conservatives have long argued that allowing Medicaid to reimburse Planned Parenthood for other reproductive services would further its ability to carry out more abortions each year.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote for the minority, arguing that the decision is one of many that have undermined the 1871 Civil Rights Act. The law was enacted after the Civil War and allows individuals to sue the government to enforce their civil rights.
“South Carolina asks us to hollow out that provision so that the state can evade liability for violating the rights of its Medicaid recipients to choose their own doctors,” she said. “The court abides South Carolina’s request. I would not.”
The southern state sought to restrict all funding to Planned Parenthood following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade. South Carolina currently has a six-week abortion ban, and Planned Parenthood has just two facilities left in Charleston and Columbia.
Defenders of the service provider cite Planned Parenthood’s ability to offer other health care services, including contraception, cancer screenings, and pregnancy testing, NBC News reports.
Julie Edwards, a Medicaid-eligible patient, signed on to Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit, which argued that Edwards should have been allowed to pursue her own treatment under civil rights laws. She initially saw legal success in a lower court before the Supreme Court agreed to take the case.
Legal observers expect more blockbuster rulings to follow before the Supreme Court’s summer recess. Among them are challenges to President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, new gun safety regulations in blue states, and the parameters of presidential immunity.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that minors are not entitled to receive surgical or hormonal treatment to address gender dysphoria, the disorder that typically accompanies an individual’s wish to change their gender. The decision was a blow to LGBT advocates who have since formed a circular firing squad as they blame trans activists for pushing a court case that had little chance of success.
A 7-2 decision also allowed California energy producers to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over electric vehicle regulations that they claim are an “unlawful” targeting of their industry.