Federal court allows Trump to suspend Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday cleared the way for the administration of President Donald Trump to execute a provision of the new spending and tax cut law, which will eliminate all Medicaid funding to several Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. The Boston-based court thus stayed a preliminary injunction that had been issued in July by a trial judge, which blocked the Republican administration from cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood affiliates.

In its motion to stay Judge Indira Talwani's preliminary injunction, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defined her reasoning as "flimsy" and even argued that the Supreme Court had high standards for invalidating laws under congressional proscription clauses. "Halting federal subsidies bears no resemblance to the punishments—including death, banishment, and imprisonment—previously understood as implicating the clause," the agency explained in its motion.

Similarly, Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys explained that "the elected Branches determined that taxpayer funds should not be used to subsidize certain entities that practice abortion—conduct that many Americans find morally abhorrent."

For its part, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) commented through its CEO and president Alexis McGill Johnson that the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals decision was a blow to millions of patients across the country, considering that some 200 clinics were at imminent risk of closure due to the funding freeze. Similarly, Johnson explained that the decision blocked more than 1.1 million patients from using their Medicaid insurance at Planned Parenthood facilities.

"With this decision, patients and providers are in limbo … all because the Trump administration and its backers want to attack Planned Parenthood and shut down health centers. This is a blow, but the fight isn’t over," the president and CEO explained in a statement.