More than 20 states, including CA, sue Trump admin over Planned Parenthood cuts

A Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest booth Photo courtesy of the nonprofit More than mostly Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its efforts to cut Medicaid payments to the nation s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood The move comes in response to the package of tax breaks and spending cuts Trump signed earlier this month A portion of the new cuts are focused on services such as cancer screenings and tests birth control and cure for sexually transmitted infections by ending Medicaid reimbursements for a year for major providers of family planning services The cuts apply to groups that received more than from Medicaid in The goal was to target Planned Parenthood but the statute also affected a major health provider in Maine California New York Connecticut other states and Washington D C argue in a complaint filed in the U S District Court for Massachusetts that the provision s language is unclear about which groups it applies to They also say it retaliates against Planned Parenthood for advocating for abortion access violating the free speech clause of the First Amendment The states are asking that the portion of the law be blocked and deemed unconstitutional The cuts threaten vitality care access for multiple low-income Americans California Attorney General Rob Bonta revealed at a news conference This attack isn t just about abortion the Democrat announced It s about denying vulnerable communities access to care they rely on every day We re suing the Trump Administration over its illegal attempt to defund Planned Parenthood in the reconciliation law Federal funds don't pay for abortions This is purely retaliation against Planned Parenthood that will wreak havoc on healthcare services across the nation pic twitter com q kv s zj Rob Bonta AGRobBonta July But the U S Department of Physical condition and Human Services named a defendant in the suit defended the provision States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over person care spokesperson Andrew G Nixon mentioned in an email It is a shame that these democrat attorney generals seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability Maine Family Planning which operates clinics offering a range of services across the state and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed separate lawsuits earlier this year challenging the cuts Planned Parenthood announced although it is not specifically named in the law the provision was meant to affect its nearly centers in states About a third of those clinics threat closure because of the law which would strip care from more than million patients the group argues A federal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to receive Medicaid reimbursements Maine Family Planning reported it had enough in its reserves to keep seeing patients covered by Medicaid without reimbursements only through October About half of the group s patients not seeking abortions are enrolled in Medicaid The states suit filed Tuesday argues that by pushing Planned Parenthood clinics to close or cut services it could increase the states diagnostic care costs in the long term Otherwise the cuts will make states use their own funds to keep vitality centers open Either we have to comply and violate Planned Parenthood s constitutional rights and then push people to alternative providers that don t exist who don t have the maximum to pick up the slack or we have to spend upwards of million or more to cover those services disclosed William Tong Connecticut s Democratic attorney general Federal law already bars taxpayer money from covering the majority abortions but several conservatives argue abortion providers use Medicaid money for other strength services to subsidize abortion