defund

Planned Parenthood says one million patients could lose coverage if it was cut off from Medicaid funds.

A United States federal judge has ruled against President Donald Trump’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood, a reproductive health services organisation that has long attracted conservative ire.

In a decision on Monday, US District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that Planned Parenthood clinics must continue to receive reimbursements for Medicaid, a government health programme for the poor.

“Patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable,” Talwani stated in her Monday order. “In particular, restricting Members’ ability to provide healthcare services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs.”

Planned Parenthood had filed a lawsuit over a provision in a recent Republican tax and spending bill that cut off Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers who received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.

The US already prevents federal funds from paying for abortion services, and organisations that provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, also offer reproductive health services such as contraception, pregnancy tests and STD testing.

The organisation estimated that the provision in the bill could result in the closure of 200 clinics across 24 states, with more than one million patients at risk of losing coverage.

Conservative politicians have long sought to restrict access to federal funds for Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion provider, as part of a larger push to roll back access to reproductive health services.

Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a previous 1973 decision that had established abortion as a constitutional right, in June 2022, numerous Republican-led states have passed new restrictions on abortion or banned it entirely.

“Today, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the provision in the reconciliation law that unconstitutionally ‘defunds’ Planned Parenthood from going back into effect,” Planned Parenthood said in a statement on Monday.

“This means that patients can use Medicaid at Planned Parenthood health centers, and Planned Parenthood health centers can receive reimbursements for the essential services they provide.”

Public media outlets around the country were preparing for the worst. Early Thursday morning, the worst arrived.

The U.S. Senate voted to approve the Trump White House’s proposal to claw back $9 billion in federal funding previously allocated for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The 51-48 Senate vote means that the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which administers the funds for NPR radio stations and PBS TV affiliates, is on track to lose $1.1 billion that had been budgeted for the next two years.

The House of Representatives is expected to give final approval for the Trump administration’s request later Thursday.

The reaction from NPR was swift. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has two major affiliates serving the Los Angeles area: LAist, or KPCC-FM (89.3), and KCRW-FM (89.9).

In a statement after the vote, NPR Chief Executive Katherine Maher warned of dire consequences for smaller communities that depend on public broadcasting outlets. “Nearly 3-in-4 Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety,” she said.”We call on the House of Representatives to reject this elimination of public media funding, which directly harms their communities and constituents, and could very well place lives at risk.”

PBS leaders sounded a similar alarm.

“These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas,” PBS President Paula Kerger said in a statement. “Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead.”

PBS and NPR have both filed suit against President Trump and other administration officials over the president’s May executive order calling for the funding cutbacks. They say the order is a case of “viewpoint discrimination” driven by the White House’s unhappiness with the content of public media. Trump has called NPR and PBS government-funded “left-wing propaganda.” Republicans have for decades called for cuts to public broadcasting because of the perceived liberal slant of its programming.

Public media outlets in Southern California’s urban areas are less dependent on federal funding than stations in smaller, rural markets, which don’t get the same kinds of donations from wealthy locals, for example. But they will feel an immediate impact as the money TV and radio stations expected from Corp. for Public Broadcasting in October is now on the verge of disappearing.

Connie Leyva, executive director of KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino, which operates PBS and NPR affiliates, said earlier this week that the Senate action will mean losing $540,000, about 6% of its operating budget. Thus, she has to consider cutting five positions on an already lean staff.

In addition to serving the Inland Empire, KVCR operates a service called First Nations Experience (FNX), which produces programming for and about Native Americans and world Indigenous cultures. Such initiatives are endangered by the funding cuts.

“We just created an app, which is free to download and get Indigenous material wherever you are,” Leyva said. “But without funding, how do we continue to keep that relevant and fresh?”

Leyva said KVCR will likely have to reduce its block of PBS children’s TV programming that reaches her community through over-the-air antennas. “I heard one senator say, ‘You can have Disney or Nickelodeon,’” she said. “He doesn’t understand you have to purchase that. All of our programming is free, and these cuts harm our poor communities.”

LAist, based in Pasadena, was set to receive $1.7 million, about 4% of its annual budget. Alejandra Santamaria, president and chief executive of LAist, said the money is equivalent to 13 journalist positions at the local news operation.

“We have to make some tough choices,” Santamaria said.

Santamaria said the station has already reached out to donors to cover the expected shortfall. “We may not ever again get federal funding, so you have to fundraise the money to fill that gap in perpetuity,” she said.

Classical California, which operates radio stations KUSC-FM (91.5) in Los Angeles and KDFC-FM (90.3) in San Francisco, receive around $1 million annually in government funding. KCRW in Santa Monica, which produces tastemaking noncommercial music programs as well as news content, was expecting $264,000 from the CPB.

July 8 (UPI) — A federal judge has awarded Planned Parenthood a win over the Trump administration, halting a provision in President Donald Trump‘s massive tax cuts and benefits bill that prevents patients from using Medicaid at its healthcare facilities.

Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts issued her temporary restraining order Monday evening, ordering the Trump administration to take “all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes to Planned Parenthood Federation and its members.”

The ruling came hours after Planned Parenthood filed its lawsuit against a provision in Trump’s policy bill that puts in place a one-year ban on Medicaid payments to healthcare nonprofits that provide abortion services while receiving more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in fiscal year 2023.

The nonprofit family medical provider accused the Trump administration of unlawfully targeting it with the so-called defund provision.

It said the provision’s purpose was to specifically “punish” Planned Parenthood for advocating for and providing legal abortion access outside of the Medicaid program and without using federal funds.

The lawsuit added that the provision was made specifically to target Planned Parenthood as those who would be affected by it are “almost entirely” its members.

“And if there were any doubt, President Trump, Speaker [Mike] Johnson and their allies have been promising to ‘defund Planned Parenthood’ for years now,” the lawsuit states. “That is what the Defund Provision does.”

According to the lawsuit, if the provision is allowed to stand, it would threaten the healthcare of more than 1 million Americans who use Medicaid as their insurance at Planned Parenthood centers for care ranging from birth control to cancer screenings.

“The Defund Provision is a naked attempt to leverage the government’s spending power to attack and penalize Planned Parenthood and impermissibly single it out for unfavorable treatment,” the lawsuit states.

“It does so not only because of Planned Parenthood members’ long history of providing legal abortions to patients across the country, but also because of Planned Parenthood’s unique role in advocating for policies to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion.”

In a statement following the ruling, Planned Parenthood said it was “grateful” for the swift action.

“In states across the country, providers have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive healthcare because President Trump and his backers in Congress passed a law to block them from going to Planned Parenthood,” it said on Threads.

“The fight is just beginning, and we look forward to our day in court!”

WASHINGTON — Anybody remember “Abolish ICE?”

That was progressives’ impassioned cry last year after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents imprisoned undocumented immigrant children in cages. It was a litmus test of compassion for Democrats running for president.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said yes, “abolish ICE.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said she’d “replace” the agency. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he’d “restructure” it.

But Joe Biden, the leading moderate in the race, refused to get near the idea. Eventually, “Abolish ICE” disappeared — and Biden won the nomination.

Now, after George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, progressive groups have raised a new banner: “Defund the police.”

It may be the worst political slogan ever coined.

For one thing, its proponents say it doesn’t mean what it sounds like — the abolition of police departments, a proposal that would be an election year gift to President Trump.

The defunders say they want to trim police budgets and redirect the money to social services, and let cops go back to solving crimes and other core functions. Even then, the idea is massively unpopular.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll last week found only 16% of Democrats favor cuts in police funding. Republicans are even less enthusiastic.

“Abolish ICE” was more popular than that.

Biden’s response was crisp. “I don‘t support defunding the police,” he said Monday. “I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency.”

That’s no surprise. Biden is a man of the center — the center of the Democratic Party, that is. He built his Senate career as a “law and order” candidate during the high-crime era, with strong support from police unions.

He’s moved left since then, but “Defund the police?” His 77-year-old political antennae are too well-tuned for that.

More striking were the similar reactions of most other Democrats, including leading progressives. Sanders said he wants to pay well-trained police officers more, not less. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the slogan was “a distraction.”

Instead of defunding police, House Democrats plan to pass a sweeping police reform bill with a long list of sensible proposals: a ban on federal aid for police departments that use chokeholds, mandated use of body cameras for police, a change in qualified immunity laws to let people seek civil damages against abusive police, and a national misconduct registry to track bad cops.

Biden has endorsed the bill, which is similar to criminal justice proposals he has outlined.

“Let us vow to make this, at last, an era of action to reverse systemic racism,” he said in a passionate speech in Philadelphia last week. “Bad cops should be dealt with severely and swiftly. We all need to take a hard look at the culture that allows for these senseless tragedies to keep happening.”

And here’s what may be the most important development: Most of the public agrees.

A series of public opinion polls found that the wave of overwhelmingly peaceful protests that followed Floyd’s death crystallized a remarkable shift in public opinion — in favor of reform.

The Yahoo/YouGov poll, for example, found that fully two-thirds of Americans want to ban police from using chokeholds, including 48% of Republicans.

A Monmouth poll found that 57% of Americans believe police officers are more likely to use excessive force in a confrontation if the target is Black; four years ago, only 34% gave that answer.

What provoked the huge change in public sentiment? I’ll nominate an obvious cause: ubiquitous cellphone cameras, which enable protesters and bystanders to record police misconduct and upload it to social media.

In an earlier era, the Minneapolis police could claim — as they tried to do this time — that Floyd died in a violent struggle with officers. But we know otherwise, because we watched him die after nearly nine agonizing minutes with an armed officer pressing his full weight on his neck and others holding his legs.

As the protests swelled, Trump resorted to the age-old playbook of “law and order,” charging that the problem was violent agitators running amok. But anyone with a smartphone could see that wasn’t true.

He tweeted that a 75-year-old protester who suffered serious head injuries after being shoved by police in Buffalo, N.Y., had faked his fall and might have been “an Antifa provocateur.” That one didn’t fly, either.

Trump normally displays a canny sense of the public mood. But he has put himself squarely on the wrong side of this issue — not only morally, but as a matter of practical politics.

He doesn’t seem to have noticed that most voters think he’s dead wrong.

Suddenly, thanks to the tragedy of Minneapolis, Democrats have an opportunity to build a majority — perhaps even a bipartisan majority — in favor of criminal justice reform.

It’s too late for George Floyd, but just in time for the November election.

Republican-led states have sought to deprive abortion providers of public funds by restricting access to Medicaid.

The United States Supreme Court has cleared the way for South Carolina to strip the nonprofit healthcare provider Planned Parenthood of funding under Medicaid, a government insurance programme.

Thursday’s ruling was split along ideological lines, with the three liberal justices on the nine-member court dissenting.

The ruling overturned a lower court’s decision barring Republican-governed South Carolina from preventing Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a regional branch, from participating in the state’s Medicaid programme.

Republican leaders in South Carolina have objected to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions.

The Supreme Court’s decision bolsters efforts by Republican-led states to deprive the reproductive healthcare provider of public money.

The case centred on whether recipients of Medicaid may sue to enforce a requirement under US law that they may obtain medical assistance from any qualified and willing provider. Medicaid is administered jointly by the federal and state governments, and it is designed to provide healthcare coverage for low-income people.

Since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned its landmark Roe v Wade ruling that legalised abortion nationwide, a number of Republican-led states have implemented near-total bans on the procedure. Some, like South Carolina, prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates clinics in the South Carolina cities of Charleston and Columbia, where it serves hundreds of Medicaid patients each year, providing physical examinations, screenings for cancer and diabetes, pregnancy testing, contraception and other services.

The Planned Parenthood affiliate and a Medicaid patient named Julie Edwards sued the state in 2018. A year earlier, in 2017, Republican Governor Henry McMaster had ordered officials to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in the state Medicaid programme by deeming any abortion provider unqualified to provide family planning services.

The plaintiffs sued South Carolina under an 1871 law that helps people challenge illegal acts by state officials. They said the Medicaid law protects what they called a “deeply personal right” to choose one’s doctor.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom conservative legal group and backed by President Donald Trump’s administration, said the disputed Medicaid provision in this case does not meet the “high bar for recognising private rights”.

A federal judge previously ruled in Planned Parenthood’s favour, finding that Medicaid recipients may sue under the 1871 law and that the state’s move to defund the organisation violated Edwards’s right to freely choose a qualified medical provider.

In 2024, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia, also sided with the plaintiffs.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on April 2.

The dispute has reached the Supreme Court three times. The court in 2020 rejected South Carolina’s appeal at an earlier stage of the case. In 2023, it ordered a lower court to reconsider South Carolina’s arguments in light of a ruling the justices issued involving the rights of nursing home residents.

That decision explained that laws like Medicaid must unambiguously give individuals the right to sue.