Court to weigh S.C. move to cut off Planned Parenthood funds
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The question of whether South Carolina can defund Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services – will be before the nation’s highest court.
The U.S. Supreme Court has now agreed to take up the case originating in the Palmetto State – after turning it down multiple times.
Federal law already prohibits Medicaid dollars from funding abortions.
But in 2018, Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order – prohibiting Planned Parenthood from participating in the state’s Medicaid program for services besides abortions.
That sparked a years-long legal battle – that’s made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The question that’ll be before the court is whether Medicaid recipients can sue – as one did in this case – to select the qualified provider they want.
Planned Parenthood operates two clinics in the state – in Columbia and Charleston.
It says those are sometimes the only option for lower-income South Carolinians seeking reproductive health care – for services like birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and cancer screenings.
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“We provide these services every day, and we are able to provide them to people with low incomes, we’re able to provide them on a sliding scale, and we’re one of the few providers who accepts Medicaid,” Molly Rivera.
But the state has argued Planned Parenthood isn’t a qualified provider.
“Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to fund facilities that choose to profit off abortion, and South Carolina is free to use its limited funding to subsidize life-affirming health care,” said John Bursch of the Alliance Defending Freedom.
In a statement – the governor says in part, “Taxpayer dollars should never fund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. ... I’m confident the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with me that states shouldn’t be forced to subsidize abortions.”
The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for arguments in this case – though they’re expected to be sometime next spring.
Lower courts have sided with Planned Parenthood in this case – allowing its clinics to keep accepting Medicaid patients.
But other states have faced similar challenges – and federal appeals courts are split on the issue – which attorneys representing the State of South Carolina say – needs to be settled nationwide.
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