The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has joined forces with other healthcare providers to contest what they call an unconstitutional attempt to strip their funding. The controversy centers on a provision that would effectively "defund" the organization, despite its crucial role in providing healthcare to low-income communities.
The lawsuit, filed Monday morning in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, argues that a provision in the reconciliation bill that blocks healthcare providers that offer abortions from receiving Medicaid funding for any other services for one year is unconstitutional.
Federal law, through the Hyde Amendment, already prohibits federal funding for abortions. Planned Parenthood bills Medicaid for non-abortion medical services, ranging from cancer screenings to reproductive health services. The organization also receives separate federal funding through various grants and programs for public health initiatives.
Planned Parenthood has warned the provision puts nearly 200 health centers at risk of closing, which would lead to 1.1 million patients in 24 states losing access to healthcare. Ninety percent of those closures would be in states where abortion is legal.
According to a study from KFF, a non-partisan health policy organization, Planned Parenthood serves as one of the largest providers of family planning services to low-income Americans. In 2021, one in 10 Medicaid recipients relied on Planned Parenthood for family planning services.
In a press release announcing the lawsuit, Shireen Ghorbani, interim president of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, voiced fierce opposition to the measure.
“As the Trump administration guts our public health care system, we know millions will suffer and struggle to get care. We will not tolerate these attacks. For over 55 years, we have proudly cared for generations of Utahns, and we will always find ways to meet the health care needs of our communities. Here in Utah, we are used to politicians trying to strip away our rights for political gain. We haven’t backed down before, and we won’t now,” Ghorbani said.
According to the court filing, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah provided healthcare to nearly 2,100 patients enrolled in Medicaid in 2024. In 2023, PPAU received just over $700,000 in Medicaid reimbursements.
The congressional action follows a Supreme Court ruling that makes it easier for individual states to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid programs.
