Planned Parenthood will continue to receive Medicaid funding in Louisiana and Kansas after the Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear cases in which the states sought to stop the organization from participating in the program.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case leaves intact lower court decisions that allowed Planned Parenthood to continue to receive Medicaid funding.
The issue at question was whether individuals on Medicaid who received medical care from places such as Planned Parenthood have the right to challenge a state’s decision to cut off funding from the organization.
In Louisiana, U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ordered the state to keep funding Planned Parenthood in 2015, and in 2016 a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit upheld that decision. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Kansas had upheld a lower ruling finding that Kansas was wrong to cut off funding from Planned Parenthood.
“We are pleased that lower court rulings protecting patients remain in place,” Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen said in a statement. “Every person has a fundamental right to health care, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much they earn.”
Louisiana sought to cut off Planned Parenthood following the release of videos in 2015 that purported to show Planned Parenthood staff discussing the sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has denied any wrongdoing.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented from Monday’s decision not to hear the case, saying that they believed the court did not get involved because the issue of abortion was at play.
“What explains the court’s refusal to do its job here? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood,’” Thomas wrote. He argued that the court should have taken up the case in order to resolve the question over whether an individual can challenge state decisions regarding Medicaid.
Four justices are needed to accept a case. The decision is the first on abortion to come before a more conservative Supreme Court with the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Medicaid is jointly funded by the state and federal government, and covers low-income people, pregnant women, and people with disabilities.
The challenge mirrors others occurring at the federal level. The Trump administration is considering cutting off abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, from family planning grants that pay for birth control, testing of sexually transmitted infections, and screenings.
Federal funds are banned from going toward abortions except in the cases of rape, incest, or if a woman’s pregnancy threatens her life, but the Medicaid program in 15 states pays for abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
