Judge Blocks Planned Parenthood Defunding…Again

As part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which was signed on July 4, Medicaid funding previously funneled into Planned Parenthood and its affiliates was put on hold for one year. This measure, aimed at redirecting taxpayer dollars away from organizations that carry out elective abortions, was hailed by pro-life advocates as a step in the right direction in safeguarding unborn lives. Unsurprisingly, abortion activists were not keen on the legislation. In fact, on Tuesday, a federal judge appointed by former President Barack Obama issued a ruling that barred the Trump administration from enforcing the defunding in 22 Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia.

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani sided with blue states to keep the taxpayer dollars flowing to Planned Parenthood. She claimed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed “to provide clear notice as required by the Spending Clause of the United States Constitution” to the Democrat-led states concerning the funding cuts. Notably, Talwani had taken similar action in July aimed at this provision already—a decision that was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

As the Daily Wire noted, “Talwani has a history of leftist activism and has volunteered for and donated to prominent Democrat politicians, including Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren.” Talwani also has significant financial ties to other Democrats. For example, she’s donated $1,725 in total to the party and its politicians, which involves $1,000 of it going to former Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., $350 to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and $100 to Obama—plus an additional $275 given to the Democratic National Committee. And beyond this case, Talwani has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration, issuing injunctions on immigration policies and other executive actions she perceived as overreach.

Pro-life leaders wasted no time condemning Talwani’s most recent ruling. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, for example, explained that “Democrats and their radical activist judges are desperately seeking to thwart the will of the people and bail out the Big Abortion industry, led by Planned Parenthood. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is federal law passed by Congress and signed by the president.” She added, “This fight is not over. The pro-life movement will work tirelessly to ensure the Democrats do not prevail and taxpayers are never forced to pay a dime to prop up Big Abortion businesses.”

The Trump administration echoed this frustration. A HHS spokesperson told Newsweek that the department was “disappointed in the court’s decision. We remain committed to protecting the integrity of Medicaid programs to ensure full compliance with the law and conditions set by Congress.” There’s a seven-day stay on Talwani’s order that allows the Justice Department time to appeal.

This unsettled matter is unfurling amid a tumultuous time for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business. Since the defunding provision cleared legal hurdles and went into effect in September, more than 20 clinics have shuttered nationwide, from Houston’s massive Prevention Park facility (once the Western Hemisphere’s largest abortion center) to smaller outposts in Ohio, California, Indiana, and Vermont. Planned Parenthood has labeled the law “unconstitutional and dangerous.” Meanwhile, pro-lifers frame the closures as a triumph for the unborn. And yet, they also caution that the one-year limit leaves the door open for funds to rush right back in if further legislative action does not take place to extend the defunding.

“The pro-life movement has made great strides in the effort to defund abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood and protect American taxpayer dollars from being used to kill unborn children,” Family Research Council’s Joy Stockbauer told The Washington Stand. “That being said,” she added, “the incremental step of defunding abortion businesses for only one year must be extended to permanence. I am optimistic that the pro-life champions in Congress and the Trump administration will be able to make this goal a reality—but pro-life Americans must continue to make clear that taxpayer funding of abortion is unacceptable, and we will not go back.”

The battle, however, extends far beyond brick-and-mortar clinics. With chemical abortions—facilitated by mail-order drugs like mifepristone, which have surged post-Dobbs and pose grave risks to women and the unborn—pro-lifers are warning that even widespread closures of physical locations wouldn’t eliminate the threat. As Stockbauer put it, “The pieces necessary to protect mothers and babies from abortion drugs are all there—we just need the leaders of our government to step up and put the puzzle together.”

She outlined concrete pathways forward: “Enforcing the federal Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of abortion drugs, and completing an FDA safety reevaluation of the abortion pill, ideally removing it from the market entirely, are just two examples of the many avenues available to protect mothers and babies from abortion drugs.”

Originally published by The Washington Stand

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