On July 28, US District Judge Indira Talwani blocked a provision in President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill that defunded abortion provider Planned Parenthood. In her ruling, Judge Talwani said the provision "burdens the exercise of Planned Parenthood Federation and its Members First Amendment rights of association and is thus subject to strict scrutiny review."
The ruling brought major blowback from the administration and political watchers, because Talwani's order essentially nullified Congress and said the power of the purse strings was no longer with the legislative body, despite the clear Constitutional provisions of spending.
Today, the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Talwani:
NEW: Trump’s HHS may withhold Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood affiliates under a federal appeals court’s order Thursday blocking a lower court’s preliminary injunction protecting the clinics.
— Celine Castronuovo (@cecelou18) September 11, 2025
More here for @BLaw, with @IanMichaelLopez:https://t.co/EnpXg57Qxf
Here's more from Bloomberg Law:
The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services can withhold Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood affiliates under a federal appeals court’s order Thursday.
The HHS in the case argued that that the provision in congressional Republicans’ tax and spending law imposing a one-year pause on Medicaid reimbursements to centers that offer abortion care doesn’t amount to a targeted punishment prohibited under the US Constitution.
“Notwithstanding the contrary conclusion reached by the district court after its careful consideration of the matter, we conclude that defendants have met their burden to show their entitlement to a stay of the preliminary injunctions pending the disposition of their appeals of the same,” Thursday’s order said.
The ruling stays a July 28 order from Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts enjoining the HHS from applying the provision to exclude any of Planned Parenthood’s roughly 600 health centers from Medicaid reimbursements while litigation over the statute proceeds.
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You can read the entire ruling here.
Lawyers for HHS argued "the elected Branches determined that taxpayer funds should not be used to subsidize certain entities that practice abortion—conduct that many Americans find morally abhorrent" and that Talwani violated Congress' spending authority.
Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson warned that the provisions in the bill would cost her organization $700 million in federal funding, leading to the closure of 200 "health centers" and enacting a "backdoor abortion ban." In an interview with the Guardian, McGill Johnson elaborated, "We’re facing a reality of the impact on shutting down almost half of abortion-providing health centers. It does feel existential. Not just for Planned Parenthood, but for communities that are relying on access to this care."
According to Planned Parenthood's 2023-2024 annual report, they performed just over 402,000 abortions, roughly 40% of all abortions in the United States. At the same time, those "health centers" McGill Johnson mentioned provided far fewer services, including 2,148 adoption referrals, 7,000 prenatal services, and 3,598 cases of miscarriage care.
The ruling was 3-0 in favor of the Trump administration.
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