Supreme Court to Hear South Carolina’s Bid to Defund Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 23, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Supreme Court said on Dec. 18 it will consider whether South Carolina can stop Planned Parenthood from taking part in the state’s Medicaid program.

The court granted the petition in Kerr v. Planned Parenthood in an unsigned order. The court did not explain its decision. No justices dissented.

Medicaid is a joint federal–state program that treats the indigent.

The petition the state filed with the Supreme Court on June 3 says that in July 2018, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, signed Executive Order 2018-21 stating that the state “has a strong culture and longstanding tradition of protecting and defending the life and liberty of unborn children.”

The order directed state health officials to “deem abortion clinics unqualified to provide family planning services.” The executive fiat also made officials terminate clinics’ enrollment agreements and deny their enrollment applications in the future.

The order followed a state law that forbids the use of state funds to pay for abortions.

The issue in the case at hand is whether “the Medicaid Act’s any-qualified-provider provision unambiguously confers a private right upon a Medicaid beneficiary to choose a specific provider,” according to the petition.

Federal courts of appeals disagree on how the provision should be interpreted. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard the South Carolina case in March and ruled against the state.

The Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the petitioner, Robert Kerr, who is the director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

No oral argument has yet been scheduled in the case.

If the hearing takes place early in the new year, the court could issue a ruling by the end of June 2025.

This is a developing story and will be updated.