The Supreme Court announced it will review South Carolina’s decision to terminate Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, marking a significant abortion-related case following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The case revolves around the state’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that questions Medicaid patients’ right to select their own qualified provider and sue if this right is infringed upon.
The backstory: In 2018, South Carolina made a move to cease funding to Planned Parenthood, with Gov. Henry McMaster citing concerns that any public funds received by the organization indirectly support abortion, despite the fact that the Medicaid funding is used for family planning health services rather than abortions.
- The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked South Carolina’s attempt to cut off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding.
The big picture: Planned Parenthood has resisted the Supreme Court review, asserting that its affiliates deliver essential medical care to the economically disadvantaged, and that patients have a clear right to legal recourse if access to these services is obstructed.
