The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory for the pro-life movement Thursday, ruling that South Carolina — and by extension, other states — may block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds.
In a 6-3 decision, the Court reversed a lower court ruling that allowed individual Medicaid recipients to sue when Planned Parenthood was excluded from the state’s Medicaid program. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, emphasizing that Medicaid law does not clearly provide individuals the right to bring such lawsuits and reaffirmed that states have broad discretion to determine which providers qualify for Medicaid participation.
Planned Parenthood, which has long operated under the guise of a healthcare provider while receiving hundreds of millions in taxpayer funding, may still challenge its exclusion through South Carolina’s own administrative process — but not via federal court, the justices ruled.
The decision marks a green light for Republican-led states that seek to cut ties with abortion providers and redirect Medicaid funding to non-abortion community health centers.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster hailed the ruling as a long-awaited win:
“Seven years ago, we took a stand to protect the sanctity of life and defend South Carolina’s authority and values – and today, we are finally victorious,” he said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed our right to exclude abortion providers from receiving taxpayer dollars. Seven years ago, we took a stand to protect the sanctity of life and defend South Carolina’s authority and values – and today, we are finally victorious. My statement: pic.twitter.com/N9fkoPpQ9v
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) June 26, 2025
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, dissented, accusing the Court of denying Medicaid recipients “their only meaningful way of enforcing a right.”
But pro-life advocates say the ruling is overdue and necessary.
“Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer-funded gravy train is swiftly coming to an end,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “The truth is being exposed — botched procedures, filthy conditions, and tragic loss of life at their facilities. They’ve long abandoned real health care in favor of political activism and abortion extremism.”
Planned Parenthood operates just two clinics in South Carolina, both of which have already been under scrutiny from the state.
The ruling comes three years to the week after the landmark Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, sending abortion policy back to the states and dealing a crippling blow to the abortion industry.
While conservatives celebrated the latest decision, Democrats lashed out at the Court and Senate Republicans.
“Make no mistake — Senate Republicans own the consequences of this loathsome MAGA Supreme Court decision,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer raged on X. “They packed our courts with extremists.”
But with states regaining the ability to determine where taxpayer funds are directed, the pro-life movement continues to notch wins in the post-Roe era — and Planned Parenthood’s grip on public money is slipping fast.