US supreme court weighs restricting Medicaid payments to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood

In first abortion-related case since Trump win, court to consider clinics’ acceptance of low-income insuranceIn its first abortion-related case since Donald Trump retook control of the White House, the US supreme court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday morning in a case challenging South Carolina’s attempt to effectively “defund” Planned Parenthood because the reproductive health giant performs abortions.The case, Medina v Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, deals with a 2018 executive order from the South Carolina governor Henry McMaster that blocked clinics that provide abortions from receiving reimbursements via Medicaid, the US government’s healthcare program for low-income people, despite the fact that those reimbursements don’t actually cover abortions. “Payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life,” McMaster said at the time. Continue reading...