Judge blocks Trump administration’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood

A federal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation s largest abortion provider fights President Donald Trump s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax statute The new order replaces a previous edict handed down by U S District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last week Talwani initially granted a preliminary injunction specifically blocking the regime from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn t provide abortion care or didn t meet a threshold of at least in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year Patients are likely to suffer adverse medical consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable Talwani wrote in her Monday order In particular restricting Members ability to provide healthcare services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs A provision in Trump s tax bill instructed the federal ruling body to end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than from Medicaid in even to those like Planned Parenthood that also offer curative services like contraception pregnancy tests and STD testing In its lawsuit Planned Parenthood had argued that they would be at vulnerability of closing nearly clinics in states if they are cut off from Medicaid funds They estimated this would upshot in more than million patients losing care We re suing the Trump administration over this targeted attack on Planned Parenthood soundness centers and the patients who rely on them for care declared Planned Parenthood s president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson This scenario is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control cancer screenings and STI testing and remedy can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood medical center and we will make that clear in court