Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ Responds to Supreme Court Greenlighting State Efforts to āDefundā Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON ā The Supreme Court ruled today that Medicaid patients do not have a right to sue to enforce their right to a qualified health care provider of choice under the Medicaid statute. The decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will facilitate some statesā politically motivated efforts to block low-income patientsā access to certain health care providers and may effectively defund Planned Parenthood and other disfavored providers by barring them from state Medicaid programs.
āThe majority decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic contradicts Congressās clear purpose to give Medicaid patients their choice of qualified health care providers and also wrongly curtails patientsā rights to vindicate their choice of provider through Section 1983,ā said Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director for the Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ. āThe decision may have the effect of blocking patientsā access to birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment for patients in South Carolina and potentially will permit state officials to override patientsā choice of provider based on political whims.ā
āThe impact of this decision on our reproductive freedom will be compounded if Congress follows through on federal efforts to 'defund' Planned Parenthood by prohibiting patients from choosing Planned Parenthood health centers for their care,ā said Deirdre Schifeling, Chief Political and Advocacy Officer of the Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ. āDoing so would force the closure of hundreds of Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide, robbing people of their freedom to get reproductive health care from trusted providers in their communities and would result in shuttering 1 in 4 of the countryās abortion providers. "Make no mistake: our reproductive freedom is still under siege. The Ķųŗģ±¬ĮĻ remains committed to fighting for Planned Parenthood, abortion access, and the fundamental human right to control oneās own body using every tool we have.
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