Judge Blocks Trump From Defunding Planned Parenthood in 22 States

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in 22 states and Washington, D.C.,

The decision hands a temporary victory to the abortion business and Democrat-led states challenging the policy as unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee in Massachusetts, issued a preliminary injunction against a provision in the Republican-led Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The measure bars Medicaid reimbursements to tax-exempt organizations that kill babies in abortions and received more than $800,000 in such funds during fiscal year 2023.

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Pro-life advocates had championed the law as a critical step to redirect taxpayer dollars away from abortion companies, ending federal taxpayer support to large entities like Planned Parenthood.

The ruling applies to a coalition of 22 states led by California, Connecticut and New York, plus the nation’s capital.

Talwani found that the states are “likely to prove that the law imposes an unconstitutional, retroactive condition on state participation in the Medicaid program,” which provides health coverage to low-income Americans. She described the provision as “impermissibly ambiguous,” noting that allowing it to take effect would “increase the percentage of patients unable to receive birth control and preventive screenings, thereby prompting an increase in states’ healthcare costs.”

Planned Parenthood, which sued separately and saw 48 of its abortion centers close this year.

When a federal appeals court allowed the law to proceed temporarily, pro-life groups praised the decision.

The Trump administration’s policy aimed to enforce longstanding restrictions on federal dollars supporting abortion, building on efforts to protect unborn babies.

Talwani’s order halts enforcement for seven days to allow the administration time to appeal.

Earlier this year, Talwani blocked the same provision in a Planned Parenthood case on different grounds, though that injunction was put on hold during the appeal process.