The Supreme Court today rejected Planned Parenthood’s challenge to South Carolina’s attempt to bar the organization from participating in its Medicaid program, clearing the way for the state to strip the organization of Medicaid funds. 

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic to find that Planned Parenthood and a patient cannot sue the state of South Carolina to enforce a provision of the Medicaid Act that aims to ensure a patient can obtain medical care from the provider of their choosing – a move that anti-abortion rights activists have been pushing for years.

Nourbese Flint, abortion rights expert and President of All* Above All, a leading abortion justice organization, issued the following statement in response:

“At a time where people across the country, especially in the South, are fighting for fundamental reproductive health care access, the Supreme Court’s decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic just stripped patients of their right to choose where they get care.

“Health care costs are already high enough, and in a country where we call ourselves the land of the free, people should have a basic right to choose their provider and where to receive their reproductive health care – including Planned Parenthood.

“Moreover, this ruling allows a state to ignore federal protections under Medicaid and leave people without access to STI testing, cancer screenings, birth control, gender-affirming care and other essential care. Make no mistake – more states will follow in South Carolina’s footsteps by passing restrictive laws that ban funding for Planned Parenthood and other clinics like it. All this at a moment where anti-abortion politicians in Congress are trying to defund Planned Parenthood and strip care away from millions. 

“These bans cannot stand. They hurt people just trying to get basic health care. This ruling is a reminder that we cannot give up the fight against these attacks on all sides.”

CONTACT: madison@unbendablemedia.com