A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing a measure that would eliminate Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood, delivering a significant early victory to the organisation and more than 20 states challenging the policy. The ruling, issued December 2 by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, halts enforcement of restrictions that opponents argue would destabilize reproductive health services for millions of low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid-funded care.
Judge Talwani found that the plaintiffs-Planned Parenthood affiliates, 22 states and the District of Columbia-demonstrated a strong likelihood of success in their claim that Congress violated the U.S. Constitution's Spending Clause when it inserted Section 71113 into a reconciliation bill earlier this year. The measure bars reimbursement to any provider receiving more than $800,000 in Medicaid funds in 2023, a threshold that would affect nearly all Planned Parenthood affiliates.
The opinion pointed to ambiguities in the law's definition of "prohibited entities" and its retroactive funding cutoff. According to the memorandum, states could not have "knowingly agreed" to the conditions because the statute did not clearly articulate what obligations they were accepting when they entered Medicaid agreements. The injunction reverses a brief First Circuit ruling that had allowed enforcement to begin pending litigation.
Talwani warned that allowing the ban to take effect would impose sudden administrative and financial strain on states, likely raising emergency-room costs and disrupting access to preventive and contraceptive services nationwide. The court cited evidence that rapid defunding would trigger clinic closures and increase pressure on hospitals forced to accommodate displaced patients.
Planned Parenthood filed suit in July, arguing that Section 71113 was intentionally crafted to penalize the organisation for providing abortion services using non-Medicaid funds. The complaint asserted that the provision forces states to absorb federal policy choices by taking on new financial burdens while limiting access to screenings, STI testing, maternal health care and contraception.
State leaders supporting the lawsuit welcomed the court's decision. California Attorney-General Rob Bonta said the injunction prevents "scorched-earth" consequences across state health systems. New York Attorney-General Letitia James similarly described the measure as an unlawful attempt to make states shoulder costs associated with the administration's stance on abortion-related services.
Planned Parenthood said the ruling temporarily safeguards care for more than a million Medicaid patients and averts imminent risks to clinics already strained by frozen federal reimbursements and rising operating costs. Several affiliates have warned throughout 2025 that without relief, closures were inevitable.
