Supreme Court to Hear South Carolina's Planned Parenthood Funding Case

By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear South Carolina's effort to stop public funding for Planned Parenthood. This case could strengthen conservative states' attempts to limit government financial support for reproductive healthcare and abortion services.

The justices will review South Carolina's appeal against a lower court's ruling that prevented the state from terminating funding to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, its regional affiliate under the Medicaid program, because the organization provides abortions.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic has clinics in Charleston and Columbia, serving hundreds of Medicaid patients annually. These clinics offer physical exams, cancer screenings, and abortion services. While the U.S. government provides general guidelines for Medicaid programs, each state independently manages its program.

This marks the third time the defunding issue from South Carolina has reached the Supreme Court. In 2020, the Court dismissed the state's earlier appeal and, in 2023, directed a lower court to reassess the state’s arguments following a new ruling.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, many states, including South Carolina, have sought to enforce abortion restrictions. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state's six-week abortion ban last year.

Planned Parenthood and Medicaid patient Julie Edwards filed a lawsuit in 2018 after Republican Governor Henry McMaster ordered the termination of the organization's participation in Medicaid, asserting that abortion providers were unqualified for family planning services.

The lawsuit was initiated under an 1871 law that allows individuals to contest unlawful actions by state officials. The primary question is whether Medicaid recipients can challenge state decisions that disqualify certain healthcare providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving federal funds.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood, stating that Medicaid recipients can sue under the 1871 law and that the state's defunding actions violated Edwards' right to choose a qualified provider freely.

In March, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs for the third time, emphasizing the importance of access to Planned Parenthood for affordable care for many mothers and infants in South Carolina.

South Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services argued that Medicaid, as a federal program established by Congress, does not grant the right to sue state officials under Supreme Court precedents. The state, represented by the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom group, contends that it undermines state sovereignty unless a private right is explicitly defined.