US Appeals Court Allows Ending Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood

A federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to implement a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that denies Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates if they provide abortions, overturning a lower court's injunction that deemed the provision likely unconstitutional. The administration argued that withholding federal subsidies does not constitute a bill of attainder and that taxpayer funds should not support abortion providers, while Planned Parenthood warned the funding cut could lead to widespread clinic closures. Meanwhile, in Missouri, Planned Parenthood is engaged in legal battles over state regulations requiring providers to have an approved medication abortion complication plan and tail insurance, which they argue are politically motivated restrictions infringing on reproductive rights guaranteed by a recent state constitutional amendment. The Missouri courts are weighing whether these regulations are necessary safety measures or unconstitutional barriers to abortion access, with the state's Department of Health and Attorney General defending the rules as legitimate safeguards. Planned Parenthood and the ACLU contend that these rules unjustly target abortion providers, obstructing medication abortion availability despite voter approval of abortion rights in Missouri. These developments highlight ongoing national and state-level conflicts over abortion funding and access under the current administration and Republican-led legislatures.