𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

States may cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood, even for non-abortion services, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

In a 6-3 decision, split down ideological lines, the conservative majority of the court sided with South Carolina in a case about whether the state was allowed to remove Planned Parenthood from its Medicare roster.

Now, Medicaid patients in South Carolina who sought affordable reproductive healthcare from one of two Planned Parenthood clinics in the state will no longer be reimbursed through the federal healthcare program.

Although federal Medicare funding is not used to cover abortions, with few exceptions, it does allow for Medicaid patients to seek reimbursements for “any qualified and willing provider” – thus giving patients control over choosing their doctors.

But South Carolina’s Republican governor disputed the rule, saying taxpayers who disagreed with abortion should not be forced to pay for providers who perform abortions.

A group of individual Medicaid patients attempted to sue for the right to choose their medical provider, but the Supreme Court said on Thursday that they do not have the right to bring claims.

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South Carolina does not permit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

While often characterized as a controversial organization due to its abortion services, Planned Parenthood clinics provide necessary reproductive healthcare services as well as sexual health services and education.

“The people in this state do not want their tax money to go to that organization,” South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said.

Just $90,000 of South Carolina’s Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood yearly.

This is a breaking news story, more follows…