Planned Parenthood seeks to keep Medicaid funds flowing during legal
fight
[July 19, 2025]
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
BOSTON (AP) — Attorneys for Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide argued
in federal court Friday that cutting off Medicaid funding to its
abortion providers would hurt vulnerable patients who already have
limited health care options.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates in
Massachusetts and Utah are fighting to block part of President Donald
Trump's tax bill they say is designed to target their clinics. The
provision would end Medicaid payments to abortion providers like Planned
Parenthood that primarily offer family planning services — things like
contraception, abortion and pregnancy tests — and received more than
$800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.
Although Planned Parenthood is not specifically named in the statute,
which went into effect July 4, the organization's leaders say it was
meant to affect their nearly 600 centers in 48 states. However, a major
medical provider in Maine and likely others have also been hit.
“It's the affiliation provision that makes this rotten to the core,”
said Planned Parenthood attorney Alan Schoenfeld during Friday's hearing
in Boston.
The plaintiffs have filed their federal lawsuit against Health and Human
Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
So far, the provision has been on hold after U.S. District Judge Indira
Talwani in Boston granted a temporary restraining order blocking the
cuts for two weeks. That order expires July 21, when Talwani has said
she will decide whether to grant a motion for a preliminary injunction
against the funding cuts while the lawsuit plays out.
On Friday, Talwani was particularly focused on getting a definition of
what constituted an affiliation and what a Planned Parenthood health
center would have to do to qualify for Medicaid funding, quizzing the
federal government's attorneys if stopping abortions would be enough or
if they would have to completely severe all ties.
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Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts President and CEO
Dominique Lee, right, and attorney, Emily Nestler, respond to
questions after a federal court hearing in Boston on Friday, July
18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)
 Emily Hall, an attorney representing
HHS, said Friday that the federal government needs more information
about Planned Parenthood's structure and time to finalize
interpretations of the law.
“It depends on the nature of the corporate relationship, which I
don't have,” Hall said.
Fears of pending cuts to Planned Parenthood further escalated this
week after a Planned Parenthood office in Ohio announced Tuesday
that it was closing two health clinics — in Hamilton and
Springfield, north of Cincinnati — due to state and federal cuts.
“Make no mistake: This is not a decision made by Planned Parenthood
of Southwest Ohio Region,” President and CEO Nan Whaley, a one-time
Democratic gubernatorial nominee, told reporters. “We took every
possible step to keep these centers open, but the devastating impact
of state and federal political attacks has forced us into this very
difficult position.”
The centers provide preventive health care, including testing for
sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and wellness exams.
Medicaid is a government health care program that serves millions of
low-income and disabled Americans. Nearly half of Planned
Parenthood’s patients rely on Medicaid.
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