On Monday, shortly after Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration over a provision in the “big, beautiful bill” that would have cut federal funding for the abortion giant, a leftist federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the provision outright.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, approved Planned Parenthood’s request to halt the provision, which freezes Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for one year.
Talwani’s restraining order, which will last for two weeks, holds that “defendants, their agents, employees, appointees, successors, and anyone acting in concert or participation with Defendants are hereby enjoined from enforcing, retroactively enforcing, or otherwise applying” the relevant provision of the bill.
“‘Defendants shall take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner,” Talwani added.
“Talwani’s ruling still allows the administration to enforce the provision against other providers, but Planned Parenthood says it comprises almost the entirety of the impacted entities,” The Hill noted.
In 2024, Planned Parenthood’s annual report noted the organization had performed 392,715 abortions between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022. That represented a 5% increase over the year before, when 374,155 abortions were performed. Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022.
“The document says that locations in states ‘where abortion is protected’ saw a 700% increase in demand,” the Catholic News Agency reported. “The report also said that Planned Parenthood helped to refer and coordinate travel for over 33,000 abortions.”
In late June, the Supreme Court ruled that lower courts do not have the unilateral authority to block presidential orders. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the opinion for the majority, stated, “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them.”
