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A coalition of California and other liberal-led states sued on Tuesday over a “big beautiful bill” provision that prohibits Planned-parent-child relationships and other large, nonprofit abortion providers from receiving Medicaid funds for hosting unrelated health services.
The measure threatens clinics across the country because they rely on federal funds to operate. Atty, California. General Rob Bonta, who leads the lawsuit, called it a “cruel backdoor abortion ban,” which violates the law in multiple ways.
The state’s challenge comes a day after Plannard Parent-Child Relations won a major victory in its own lawsuit over the action in Boston. There, federal judges issued preliminary injunctions that prevented bans against planned parent affiliates across the country.
While federal law already prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, the new “refund provision” for the bill passed by Congressional Republicans earlier this month is moving further. Additionally, nonprofit abortion providers that generated more than $800,000 in annual Medicaid revenues in 2023 are banning them from receiving funds for next year, including abortion-free services such as abortion, cancer screening, birth control and sexually transmitted infection testing.
U.S. Department of Justice lawyers argue that the measure “will halt federal grants for large-scale abortions,” and that Constitutional Congress could “freely refuse to provide taxpayer funding to entities that provide abortions, and that planners should not shake up more than that of Congress.
In announcing the state’s lawsuit on Monday, Bonta’s office repeated planned parent officials in claiming the provisions specifically and illegally targeted planned custody and its affiliate clinics. It calls it “a direct attack on health access for millions of low-income Americans disproportionately affecting women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color.”
Bonta’s office said the measure threatens $300 million in federal funds for California clinics. In California, Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider and “critical to the stability” of Planned Pranthood’s 114 clinics.
At a virtual press conference Monday, Bonta noted that the federal fund has already not covered abortions. He said the new provisions are “punishments for constitutional advocacy of planned parents for abortions” and “a direct attack on access to essential health care for millions who rely on Medicaid.”
“The Trump administration and Congress are actually blocking essential life-saving care, such as cancer screening and STI testing, simply because Planned Parenthood spoke in favor of reproductive rights,” Bonta said. “It’s really hard to ignore hypocrisy. It seems that parties who claim to be defenders of free speech only care if they match their agenda.”
Bonta added: “Reliable, California will continue to lead as a reproductive free nation and continue to advocate for healthcare as a human right.”
In their lawsuit, the state argues that the measure is illegally ambiguous and will violate Congressional pay output by selecting planned custody for negative treatment, harming people’s health, and will increase the costs of the state’s Medicaid program by over $50 million over the next decade.
In its suit, Planned Parenthood also alleged that the measure intentionally singled it out of its constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, and appointed its affiliates for punishment.
In granting the request for a temporary injunction for Plannard parent-child relationships, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani wrote that “it is not instructing the federal government not to qualify for Medicaid compensation, as it does not prohibit the federal government from regulating abortions.”
Obama’s appointee Talwani wrote that she “does not require the federal government to “use money that has not yet been allocated for Medicaid or other funds.”
Instead, Talwani wrote, “Her order is blocking the Trump administration” to exclude certain entity groups (members of the Planned Parenthood Federation) due to their exclusion from refunds under the Medicaid program.
In a statement to the Times Tuesday, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the “big, beautiful bill” was “legally passed in both rooms in the legislative division and signed the law by the CEO,” and said Talwani’s order, which granted the injunction, was “illogical, not absurd, but inaccurate.”
“It is an order like this that highlights the boldness of the lower courts and the confusion within the judicial division. We look forward to the ultimate victory over this issue,” Fields said.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for further comment regarding the state’s lawsuit.
Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates in California, joined Bonta at a press conference. She welcomed the state’s lawsuit, saying, “This serious attack requires multifaceted responses, both short-term and long-term strategies.”
Hicks said it’s particularly important for California to help fight back, given the state’s large stakes.
“California is the most affected state in the country, not just because of the amount of patients we have, but also because of the amount of Medicaid our state takes,” she said. “It speaks to our values, and this defund provision is certainly true. [an] Attack on Values – the heaviest in California. ”
Bonta is leading the lawsuit along with Connecticut and the New York Attorney General. Joining them are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Roll Island, Oregon, Washington, Washington, Washington, Washington, and more.
Bonta noted that the lawsuit is the 36th that his office has filed against the Trump administration in the past 27 weeks.
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