Judge blocks federal funding ban on Planned Parenthood locations nationwide
A Planned Parenthood sign is displayed on the outside of the clinic in Indianapolis in August 2023. A federal judge in Boston has widened her block on the Trump administration’s ability to enforce a provision of President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy law that would defund Planned Parenthood’s health care services.
By Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — A federal judge in Boston has widened her block on the Trump administration’s ability to enforce a provision of President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy law that would defund Planned Parenthood’s health care services.
US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled last week that the administration couldn’t enforce the funding ban against some Planned Parenthood organizations. In a new preliminary injunction issued Monday, the judge blocked enforcement of the law nationwide, saying it applied to the dozens of state and local Planned Parenthood member organizations.
“Patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable. In particular, restricting Members’ ability to provide healthcare services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs,” Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote in the 58-page ruling.
The measure, part of Trump’s domestic policy bill that was signed into law July 4, bars Medicaid users from coverage with a health care provider that also provides abortion services.
The judge said that the plaintiffs in the case – the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, along with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah – were likely to succeed on their claim that the law had singled out the health care provider for adverse treatment.
“The legislative history and context confirm that the law’s purpose is to single out Planned Parenthood Federation and its Members for punishment,” Talwani wrote, going on to note that comments by individual lawmakers “support the conclusion that Congress’s intent was punitive.”
While the legislation did not explicitly mention Planned Parenthood, it prohibits federal funding for providers “primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care” that also provide abortion services.”
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