The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily stayed a lower-court injunction, allowing the Trump administration to cut Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics in 22 states and Washington, D.C. The provision bars Medicaid funding to tax-exempt reproductive-health providers that perform abortions and received over $800,000 in Medicaid in FY2023. Advocates warn the measure has already contributed to dozens of clinic closures and could remove preventive and reproductive-care options for millions of Medicaid patients.
Appeals Court Lets Medicaid Reimbursements To Planned Parenthood Be Cut In 22 States And D.C.; Injunction Temporarily Stayed
Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act specifically targets tax-exempt organizations that perform abortions.Photograph: Darron Cummings/AP
The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted the Trump administration's request to stay a lower-court injunction, allowing Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood health centers to be cut in 22 states and Washington, D.C. The move pauses a December ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani that had blocked enforcement of a provision in the federal tax-and-spending package.
Legal Background
The contested provision, inserted into what Republicans called the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," prohibits Medicaid payments to tax-exempt organizations that provide family-planning and reproductive-health services if they perform abortions and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements during fiscal year 2023. Federal law already broadly bars the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions; the disputed change instead affects routine Medicaid reimbursements that fund services such as STI testing, cancer screenings, contraception and other preventive care.
Lower-Court Ruling And Appeal
Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, granted an injunction on Dec. 2 after a coalition of Democratic attorneys general argued the statute imposed an unconstitutional retroactive condition on state participation in Medicaid. Talwani found the law failed to give states adequate notice about which entities were covered and imposed a restriction states could not have anticipated after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had approved state Medicaid plans.
The three-judge panel of the Boston-based First Circuit—comprised of judges appointed by Democratic presidents—temporarily stayed Talwani's injunction, finding the administration demonstrated it was likely to succeed on appeal in arguing the statute is not ambiguous and that Congress has the authority to make such changes to Medicaid funding rules.
Impact And Reactions
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who co-led the states' challenge with attorneys general from Connecticut and New York, called the appeals court decision "disappointing" but said he remains committed to "ensuring vulnerable Californians can access the healthcare they need."
Planned Parenthood has said the provision was intended to target the organization and has linked the change to the closure of at least 20 of its health centers since the law took effect in July; the organization warns up to 200 centers could ultimately close. In 2024, Planned Parenthood health centers recorded more than 1.5 million visits by people who rely on Medicaid—visits that typically cover preventive and reproductive-care services other than abortion.
Experts and advocates warn that if Medicaid beneficiaries can no longer receive routine reproductive and preventive care at Planned Parenthood clinics, many patients may face significant gaps in access to care.
The appeals court's order is the latest development in a months-long legal battle that will likely continue as the case proceeds through the courts. For now, the temporary stay allows the administration to enforce the funding limitation while the appeal moves forward.
