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USA, Supreme Court blocks public funding for abortion: green light for states

Historic ruling: Medicaid patients can no longer sue states over choice of healthcare providers. Planned Parenthood excluded

The US Supreme Court has ruled that Medicaid beneficiaries cannot sue states to assert their right to free choice of healthcare provider, paving the way for a possible block on public funding for abortion-related services. The decision, approved by a conservative majority of 6 judges to 3, represents a turning point in the debate on reproductive rights in the United States.

The case examined by the Court stems from an executive order issued in 2018 by South Carolina’s Republican governor, Henry McMaster, which excluded Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursements. Although public funds could not be used directly for abortions, the organisation was penalised because it also provided voluntary terminations of pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, together with a Medicaid patient, challenged the decision by invoking a federal clause that protects freedom of choice for patients. The lower courts had ruled in their favour, but the Supreme Court overturned those verdicts. Justice Neil Gorsuch, expressing the majority opinion, wrote that ‘Congress knows how to authorise private lawsuits against states, but it did not do so in this case.’

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Progressive Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision, accusing the Court of legitimising a violation of fundamental rights: ‘The ruling allows South Carolina to evade responsibility for violating patients’ rights,’ she said.

The ruling represents a significant victory for anti-abortion groups and could prompt other Republican-led states to follow suit, limiting access to funding for Planned Parenthood. The organisation, which also provides contraception, pregnancy tests and cancer screening, assists about half of its patients nationwide through Medicaid.

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