An appeals court panel has ruled that the Trump administration can prevent Planned Parenthood Federation of America from receiving Medicaid funding, overturning a lower court decision.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an order against two injunctions issued by a district court against the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
“We denied without prejudice as premature the defendants' motion to stay the injunctions pending the disposition of those appeals, while a motion for similar relief was pending in the district court,” read the brief order.
“The July 21, 2025, preliminary injunction and the July 28, 2025, preliminary injunction are hereby stayed pending disposition of the respective appeals.”
The appeals court panel also granted requests from the state of Louisiana and the conservative law firm the American Center for Law & Justice to file amicus briefs in the litigation.
Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson denounced the ruling in a statement, claiming that, due to the panel decision, “patients and providers are in limbo.”
“Patients who rely on the essential health care that Planned Parenthood health centers provide, can’t plan for their futures, decide where they go for care, or control their lives, bodies, and futures — all because the Trump administration and its backers want to attack Planned Parenthood and shut down health centers,” Johnson claimed.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman supported the panel ruling, saying in a statement that he was “thankful” that the “shallow” lower court decision was overturned.
“Planned Parenthood is quickly running out of friends in high and dark places, and we praise God for it,” he continued. “Over 40 Planned Parenthoods have already closed — we expect that number to grow over the coming weeks, and we’ll celebrate every one.”
“Planned Parenthood never deserved one American dollar of taxpayer funds, and when abortion clinics close, babies are saved.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which, among its provisions, included a one-year pause on federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The legislation also restricted federal funding for any entity that provides abortions.
A lawsuit was filed in response to the provision by the national Planned Parenthood organization, as well as Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.
In July, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts partially blocked the provision, arguing in part that “the law imposes an unconstitutional condition on those Members and Planned Parenthood Federation’s First Amendment right of association.”
“Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in establishing that the law impermissibly conditions the receipt of Medicaid funding on these Members foregoing their right to associate with Planned Parenthood Federation and other Members,” Talwani wrote.
“Instead of merely prohibiting Planned Parenthood Members that receive Medicaid funds from providing abortions, the statute prohibits them from affiliating with entities that do. … [R]estricting funds based on affiliation with an abortion provider operates only to restrict the associational right of Members that do not provide abortion.”
