Planned Parenthood wins freeze on "defund" provision
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A federal judge on Monday froze the one-year Medicaid funding ban on Planned Parenthood in President Trump's tax and spending package, in response to a lawsuit from the group that alleged the cutoff was unconstitutional.
Why it matters: Planned Parenthood has called the provision a "backdoor abortion ban" and said it could lead to the closure of some 200 affiliated clinics nationwide.
Driving the news: U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order freezing the funding ban while the case plays out.
- The provision in the just-passed reconciliation bill cut off Planned Parenthood and other large organizations that offer abortions from federal Medicaid funding for one year.
- Republicans lawmakers originally pressed for a 10-year ban but dialed back the duration while the Senate parliamentarian reviewed whether the prohibition was in order.
- The lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts came after the Supreme Court late last month ruled Medicaid patients don't have a right to freely choose their medical provider, in a South Carolina case that centered around state funding for Planned Parenthood.
What they're saying: "The Defund Provision is a naked attempt to leverage the government's spending power to attack and penalize Planned Parenthood and impermissibly single it out for unfavorable treatment," the organization said in the filing.
- "There is no legitimate justification for the statute; rather, the true design of the Defund Provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood," the group stated in the complaint.
More than 1 million Medicaid patients annually access health services through Planned Parenthood affiliates, they said.
- The suit named HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the health department, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and his agency.
The other side: HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story has been updated to reflect the court issuing the temporary restraining order freezing the funding ban.
