S.C. finds allies in Planned Parenthood Medicaid legal fight

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Dozens of amicus briefs were filed Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court in a dispute over Gov. Henry McMaster’s executive order that would halt state Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

McMaster issued an executive order in 2017 mandating that abortion clinics not receive any state or federal funds. In 2018, he issued another executive order specifically targeting Medicaid funding that goes to family planning services, saying those funds could not be used at clinics that offer abortions. It effectively meant Medicaid recipients could not seek care at Planned Parenthood.

Arguments have been scheduled for April 2, according to the Supreme Court docket.

Among the dozens of briefs filed on Monday was one from Gov. McMaster, which argued that the state had the right to deny these funding and said the lower court’s decision “disregards the States’ sovereignty.” U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s banned South Carolina from being able to restrict state Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood.

MORE FROM NEWS 12

South Carolina: Latest from the State House

1. New bill could ease property taxes for S.C. boat owners
2. S.C. lawmakers consider enacting online protections for children
3. S.C. attorney general warns against ICE ‘mass resistance’
4. S.C. Republicans want to ban DEI practices at state agencies
5. South Carolina lawmakers push for hands-free driving bill
6. South Carolina lawmakers float bill to regulate vapes

Briefs were filed on Monday from the below groups in of the petitioner, which is the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Some of the groups argued in the brief for the lower court’s ruling to be reversed.

• 108 South Carolina Legislators
• Southeastern Legal Foundation
• United States Senators and Representatives
• Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund
• America’s Future, One Nation Under God Foundation, Restoring Liberty Action Committee, LONANG Institute, and Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Heartbeat International, Inc.
• 137 Women Hurt by Planned Parenthood Abortions & And Then There Were None
• Americans United for Life
• American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Charlotte Lozier Institute, and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
• State of Kansas
• South Carolina Medicaid Practitioners
• Family Policy Alliance and State Policy Councils
• Liberty Counsel
• 311 State Legislators
• American Center for Law and Justice

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.