As the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could cut Planned Parenthood off from Medicaid funding in South Carolina, pro-life advocates are drawing attention to the corporation’s past controversies and abortion activism as reasons to exclude it from the program.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments last Wednesday in the case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic concerning whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue to enforce Medicaid’s “free-choice of provider provision” to cover services at facilities that provide abortions. The court is expected to release its decision in June.
In 2018, South Carolina’s Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order prohibiting any facility that performs abortions from participating in the state’s Medicaid program. Julie Edwards, a woman with Type 1 diabetes, sued the state, alleging a violation of the Medicare and Medicaid Act.
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While Planned Parenthood and its supporters have claimed that McMaster’s order prevents people enrolled in Medicaid from accessing “affordable health care,” pro-life groups argue that patients can receive health care services from non-abortion vendors.
Here are five arguments about defunding Planned Parenthood from pro-life and pro-choice groups.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
