Photo: Alamy
The Trump administration is pushing back against a lawsuit led by New York Attorney General Letitia James that challenges a new provision in federal law blocking Medicaid funds from going to clinics that provide abortion services.
James and 21 other Democratic attorneys general, along with the state of Pennsylvania, filed suit Monday targeting a section of the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, includes a provision barring Medicaid payments to nonprofit clinics that both receive significant Medicaid funds and provide abortions.
James argues the measure is designed to cut funding from Planned Parenthood and violates the Constitution.
“States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care,” said Andrew G. Nixon, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, in a statement Tuesday. “It is a shame that these Democrat attorney generals seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability.”
The lawsuit contends the provision violates the First Amendment by penalizing Planned Parenthood for its advocacy, the Spending Clause by coercing states to choose between federal funding and continued support for the organization and the Bill of Attainder Clause by singling out Planned Parenthood without due process.
Federal law already prohibits Medicaid funds from being used for abortions, except in limited cases. James argues the new law goes further by punishing the organization for its public stance on abortion, not just its services.
Critics of Planned Parenthood have long objected to its receipt of public funding, pointing to its role in providing abortions. Supporters of the bill argue that the restriction prevents indirect subsidies to abortion providers through Medicaid reimbursements.
States joining New York in the lawsuit include California, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington, all of which have laws protecting abortion access. The legal challenge highlights the ongoing partisan clash over abortion policy following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The move follows an April decision by the Trump administration that informed Planned Parenthood affiliates that it was withholding millions of dollars in federal funding due to potential civil rights law violations. Locations in at least nine state affiliates received notices announcing a temporary hold on Title X funding, a family planning program.