On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Kerr v. Planned Parenthood. At issue is a 2018 order by pro-life South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster directing the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to stop abortion facilities from receiving taxpayer funds from the state’s Medicaid program.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
“We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up Kerr v. Planned Parenthood,” said NRLC President Carol Tobias. “Taxpayers should not be forced into supporting or supplementing abortion facilities and states should not be forced to override state pro-life laws that citizens support.”
Tobias went on to say, “No American taxpayer should be forced to use their hard-earned dollars to put more money toward Planned Parenthood’s over $2 billion a year in funding. It is good that the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the rights of citizens to direct how their state spends taxpayer funds.”
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson expressed his strong support for the case. “Although we are not a party to this lawsuit, I am adamantly opposed to any taxpayer money going towards funding abortions,” he said in a statement. “I’m glad to hear the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case.”
Following a decision by the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that ruled against the state, ADF asked the high court to take the case.
“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund facilities that make a profit off abortion,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “Pro-life states like South Carolina should be free to determine that Planned Parenthood and other entities that peddle abortion are not qualified to receive taxpayer funding through Medicaid. Congress did not unambiguously create a right for Medicaid recipients to drag states into federal court to challenge those decisions, so no such right exists.”
If the High Court applies its decision in the Talevski case, John Bursch said, “We expect the court to hold that Congress did not intend to allow federal courts to second guess states’ decisions about which providers are qualified to receive Medicaid funding.”
After South Carolina determined that Planned Parenthood was not qualified to receive taxpayer funding as part of its Medicaid program, a federal district court forced the state to permanently restore Planned Parenthood’s funding. ADF attorneys appealed to the 4th Circuit, which ruled against allowing the state to terminate Planned Parenthood as a qualified Medicaid provider.
ADF attorneys then filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking it to hear the case and affirm that the Medicaid Act does not create a private right for Medicaid recipients to challenge a state’s decision that a specific provider like Planned Parenthood is not qualified to receive taxpayer funding. The Supreme Court granted that petition and sent the case back to the 4th Circuit for further consideration after its decision in Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County v. Talevski. The 4th Circuit again ruled against South Carolina, prompting attorneys to file another petition before the Supreme Court.
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. This post originally appeared in at National Right to Life News Today —- an online column on pro-life issues.
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