Thu Jun 26 15:47:18 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**Supreme Court Greenlights South Carolina’s Defunding of Planned Parenthood**
Washington D.C. – In a significant ruling along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for South Carolina to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a regional branch of the national healthcare provider. The decision, announced Thursday, overturns a lower court ruling that had blocked the state from excluding Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program due to the organization providing abortions.
The ruling bolsters efforts by Republican-led states to restrict public funding for reproductive healthcare providers who offer abortion services. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster initiated the move in 2017, directing state officials to disqualify abortion providers from the Medicaid program.
The case centered on whether Medicaid recipients can sue to enforce their right, under federal law, to choose any qualified provider. Planned Parenthood and a Medicaid patient, Julie Edwards, filed suit in 2018, arguing that the state’s action violated this right. They cited an 1871 law allowing individuals to challenge illegal actions by state officials.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, supported by the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Trump administration, argued that the Medicaid provision did not explicitly grant individuals the right to sue.
This is the third time the case has reached the Supreme Court. While previously rejecting South Carolina’s appeal in 2020, the court ordered a lower court to reconsider the state’s arguments in light of a 2023 ruling involving nursing home residents’ rights.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates clinics in Charleston and Columbia, providing various services to Medicaid patients, including cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, and contraception.
The ruling comes amid a broader landscape where Republican-led states have implemented restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
First Piper 