The United States Supreme Court has consented to hear a case concerning whether a South Carolina woman can sue over the state’s exclusion of Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program. The dispute emerged after South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster directed the state’s Department of Health and Human Services in 2018 to bar abortion clinics, including Planned Parenthood, from Medicaid participation. McMaster defended the order by stating that “payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life.”
This decision is at the heart of Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a case that has progressed through the courts after a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood and Julie Edwards, a Medicaid patient. The court blocked the state from excluding Planned Parenthood on grounds that McMaster’s order violated a provision of the Medicaid Act. This provision allows Medicaid beneficiaries to seek healthcare services from any “qualified” provider, raising the question of whether Edwards and Planned Parenthood have the right to sue to enforce the Act. With a conflicting landscape in federal courts, state representatives argue that such private lawsuits were not anticipated by Congress, pointing out the potential national implications with over 70 million Americans relying on Medicaid.
Opponents, including Edwards and Planned Parenthood, argue that the statute unequivocally provides a privately enforceable right. They contend that past legal challenges have largely stemmed from politically motivated attempts to isolate Planned Parenthood. Despite infrequent occurrences of the central issue, the Supreme Court will consider these arguments, having added the case to its docket following deliberations over nine consecutive conferences. Arguments are forecasted for the spring of 2025, with a decision expected by summer. For more information on the Court’s docket update, you can visit SCOTUSblog.