Court: States can disqualify abortionists from Medicaid money

In a “critical blow to Planned Parenthood’s access to taxpayer funds,” the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi can disqualify the abortionists as a medical services provider under Medicaid.

The abortion industry giant gains access to indigent women by providing birth control and preventive services under Medicaid. Those payments of federal tax dollars “constitute a significant chunk of the taxpayer funds flowing to the abortion giant,” according to the American Center for Law and Justice.

Possibly half of Planned Parenthood patients are on Medicaid, and a former Planned Parenthood manager says the organization “milks Medicaid patients like they are ‘mini cash cows.'”

The ACLJ explained the court ruling effectively defunds Planned Parenthood from Medicaid dollars in three states.

The case is Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas Family Planning and Preventative Health Services Inc vs. Kauffman.

It was launched after the Texas Health and Human Services Commission learned of undercover footage obtained by the Center for Medical Progress and verified by two forensic reviews “indicating that the abortion organization had broken federal law by profiting from the sale of fetal body parts from aborted babies that were then sold for research,” the ACLJ said.

The state removed Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding and several of Planned Parenthood’s patients immediately sued in federal court to challenge the decision.

The courts previously have ruled in favor of the abortionists and their paychecks.

That’s despite the documentation that the Medicaid statute does not prevent such decisions.

“Recently the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit agreed that the Medicaid statute could not be interpreted as allowing Planned Parenthood’s patients to sue states for disqualifying Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider,” the ACLJ said. “And now, the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, has joined the Eighth Circuit. The court held that the Medicaid statute does not bar states from disqualifying various Medicaid providers, including Planned Parenthood.”

The move raises the possibility that eventually the U.S. Supreme Court will rule and allow states to disqualify abortionists as the original statute provides.

“The Supreme Court has declined twice within the past two years to hear cases raising identical issues. In 2018, the court declined to hear the case over the dissent of three justices. With the addition of conservative justices to the court over the past two years, it is just a question of time before four justices will vote to hear a case; and it is quite possible the court will grant review in this case,” the ACLJ said.

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