Planned Parenthood Drops Lawsuit Over Funding Rule
Planned Parenthood has decided to end its legal fight against a rule put in place during President Trump’s time in office. This rule allowed the government to withhold Medicaid payments from groups that provide abortions.
The organization initially sued after President Trump signed a bill that stopped federal money from going to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood argued that this unfairly targeted their clinics and would limit healthcare options for people.
However, a court of appeals had previously ruled that the government could continue to withhold the funds. Now, Planned Parenthood has chosen to drop its lawsuit.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood said that its goal was to help people get the care they need from their chosen healthcare provider. They stated that, based on the court’s decision, this lawsuit was no longer the best way to achieve that goal.
The rule in question stated that groups like Planned Parenthood could not receive Medicaid payments if they primarily offered abortion services and received over $800,000 in Medicaid funds in a year.
Many Republicans have long argued that abortion providers use Medicaid money for other services to support their abortion services, even though federal law restricts taxpayer money from directly funding most abortions.
