In declining to hear Indiana case, Supreme Court supports Medicaid funds for planned parenthood

May 30 2013

The high court let stand a lower court ruling rejecting an Indiana law that would have banned Planned Parenthood from receiving any Medicaid funds.

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Rejects Ban On Funding Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to allow Indiana to block Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood clinics because they perform abortions. Without comment, the high court let stand decisions by a federal judge in Indiana and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago that prevented the measure from taking effect (Savage, 5/28).

USA Today: Supreme Court Declines To Hear Abortion Case
While federal law blocks the use of government funds to perform most abortions (with exceptions for rape, incest and woman's health), the Indiana ban went further by denying Medicaid funds for other purposes as well (Wolf, 5/29).

NPR: Supreme Court Declines Review Of Planned Parenthood Case
More than a dozen states have enacted or considered laws that bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any Medicaid payments for treating poor women. The laws target the organization because it also provides privately funded abortion services in about 3 percent of its cases. Six federal courts have ruled that targeted defunding is illegal, since federal law bars interference with the choice of a qualified Medicaid provider. The Indiana case was the first of these to reach the high court (Totenberg, 5/28).

CNN: Planned Parenthood Prevails At Supreme Court 
There was no immediate reaction to the high court denial from current Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. But Planned Parenthood, which bills itself as the "nation's leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate," applauded the move (Mears, 5/28).