Battle to Keep Planned Parenthood Defunded Heads Back to Court

A federal appeals court victory in September has bolstered efforts to keep taxpayer funding from Planned Parenthood, setting the stage for a pivotal hearing today where a judge will decide if the defunding law can remain in force amid ongoing challenges from the abortion company.

In a report released Wednesday morning ahead of the hearing, Planned Parenthood said the legislation cost $45 million in September alone as clinics across the country paid for treatment for Medicaid patients out of pocket — a rate that the organization says is unsustainable.

Meanwhile, pro-life groups say Planned Parenthood could easily keep federal funding if it stops killing babies.

Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said Trump’s legislation is a step in the right direction. Even though federal tax dollars aren’t used for abortions directly, she said taxpayers are contributing to abortion services even if they are morally or religiously opposed since Medicaid reimbursements help organizations that provide them stay afloat.

“To be forced to pay for that is just very objectionable,” Tobias said.

She suggested Planned Parenthood could stop offering abortions if it wanted to keep providing medical care to vulnerable populations.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit issued a unanimous 3-0 ruling on September 11, overturning a preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that had temporarily blocked a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, reversed a July 2025 preliminary injunction by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. Talwani had blocked a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the Republican-led Congress, which barred certain tax-exempt organizations that kill babies in abortions from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.

The three-judge panel ruled 3-0 to lift the injunction to allow defunding — with Judges Gelpi,Montecalvo, and Aframe all agreeing. Interestingly, all three are Biden appointees.

The law targeted groups like Planned Parenthood that received over $800,000 in Medicaid funding in 2023.

The appeals court ruled that the provision does not violate constitutional protections, allowing the federal government to withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates. As a result, more Planned Parenthood abortion centers are expected to close.

The decision aligns with a June 2025 Supreme Court ruling in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which permitted states like South Carolina to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for providing abortions. That 6-3 ruling, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, stated that Medicaid law does not explicitly grant patients an enforceable right to choose their health care provider, closing off Planned Parenthood’s primary legal avenue to maintain funding.

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A leading pro-life group celebrated the ruling.

“We are pleased the 1st Circuit has shut down Big Abortion’s desperate money grab,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The American people, through Congress, spoke clearly with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Taxpayers should not be forced to spend a dime funding a brutal industry that ends at least 1.1 million lives a year, harms women while providing dwindling, substandard health care services, and engages in partisan political activism – especially when more accessible, more comprehensive options outnumber Planned Parenthoods 15 to 1. We are confident the Trump administration will prevail against the abortion industry’s lawfare.”

The radical pro-abortion previously warned that the loss of funding might force the closure of approximately 200 clinics, particularly in states where abortion remains legal. However, it could receive federal funding if it merely stop killing babies.

Previously, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, partially granted Planned Parenthood’s request for a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of the funding ban against Planned Parenthood. The decision follows a temporary restraining order issued July 7, which Talwani reaffirmed after initially providing no legal reasoning, a move that drew sharp rebuke from pro-life groups and Republican lawmakers.

The provision, part of the sweeping tax and spending bill signed by Trump on July 4, imposes a one-year ban on Medicaid payments to any company that kills babies in abortions and received over $800,000 in federal funding in 2023.

Talwani’s order stated that Planned Parenthood was likely to succeed on its claim that the funding ban violates First Amendment.

“Instead of merely prohibiting Planned Parenthood Members that receive Medicaid funds from providing abortions, the statute prohibits them from affiliating with entities that do,” Talwani wrote. “The record is devoid of evidentiary support for Defendants’ suggestion that Planned Parenthood entities share funds that are ultimately used for abortions.”

Never mind that Planned Parenthood kills over 400,000 babies in abortion every year as its primary source of income apart from government funding.

Tom Jipping, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called Talwani’s initial order “obviously out of bounds,” stating, “What you have here is Congress exercising its explicit constitutional authority to make spending decisions, and you have a district judge arguably trying to exercise power she doesn’t have to force Congress to change.”

The case, Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stems from a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and its Massachusetts and Utah affiliates on July 7. The injunction applies only to certain Planned Parenthood affiliates, leaving the door open for further legal action.

The case will almost certainly be appealed ultimately to the Supreme Court.