Judge Temporarily Blocks Government From ‘Defunding’ Planned Parenthood

NewsJudge Temporarily Blocks Government From ‘Defunding’ Planned ParenthoodByZachary Folk, Forbes Staff

AuthorJul 07, 2025, 07:50pm EDTJul 07, 2025, 08:37pm EDTToplineA federal judge temporarily blocked the government from enforcing a vision of President Donald Trump’s megabill that would have prevented Medicaid from reimbursing Planned Parenthood—a move the reductive health group said would amount to “defunding. ”Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the law in a Massachusetts federal court Monday

In a Massachusetts federal court Monday, arguing the government has “no legitimate justification for the statute; rather, the true design of the Defund vision is simply to express disapval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood, which plays a particularly minent role in the public debate over abortion. ”Planned Parenthood said the law was a “naked attempt to leverage the government’s spending power” to single their organization out, and accused it of violating its members’ First Amendment rights to free association

The organization said in a statement Monday the law would have “devastating consequences for the more than 1 million patients who use Medicaid as their insurance at Planned Parenthood. ”District Court Judge Indira Talwani issued a temporary restraining order Monday evening, ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to “take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes. ”What To Watch ForTalwani’s temporary restraining order lasts for 14 days

The federal judge also asked HHS to file any objections in the next two weeks to a longer injunction, Reuters reported

Key BackgroundMonday’s lawsuit marks the first major court movement by the nation’s highest-file reductive rights organization since a Supreme Court defeat in June

In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled Planned Parenthood could not sue South Carolina after the state banned Planned Parenthood from accessing Medicaid funds, even for non-abortion services

Confidential information with Forbes

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