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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states can direct taxpayer funding in their Medicaid programs away from abortion providers toward comprehensive healthcare.

Thursday’s Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is a win for those personally opposed to their tax dollars supporting abortion and is expected to pave the way for life states across the U.S. to taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.

The 6-3 Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic ruling does not limit access to medical services, it rather upholds the right of the states to invest in services that align with their citizens’ values as reflected in state policy, in this case Medicaid funds, which are meant to help low-income individuals get necessary medical care.

South Carolina law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion, the right to such regulation by the states affirmed in the . In accord with its existing law, the state of South Carolina determined abortion providers were unqualified to receive its Medicaid funds with an signed in 2018 by Governor Henry McMaster.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which operates facilities in Charleston and Columbia, and a South Carolina Medicaid recipient sued, arguing a patient has a right to choose his or her doctor.

The gives patients the ability to select “any qualified provider.” Medina v. Planned Parenthood concerned the questions of whether patients have the right to sue over their provider choice and whether Planned Parenthood qualifies as a provider.

Planned Parenthood argued that its exclusion from the state’s Medicaid program violated the any-qualified-provider provision of the Medicaid Act along with violating the individual Medicaid recipient’s right to choose Planned Parenthood as a provider. The individual plaintiff in the case “alleged she preferred Planned Parenthood for gynecological care,” according to court records.

Legal non-profit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented South Carolina in the case, that funneling taxpayer dollars to abortion providers for any reason ultimately funds abortion.

Further, ADF said, Planned Parenthood’s two South Carolina’s facilities offer limited services, primarily abortion and gender transition drugs.

Conversely, the group said, South Carolina has roughly 200 publicly funded healthcare clinics that provide a wide range of healthcare services, family planning among them.

Additionally there are in South Carolina which offer services and support to women facing unplanned pregnancy .

Leadership for the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the U.S. deemed the Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic ruling a victory for states’ rights and life-affirming healthcare.

“This is not just a legal win—it’s a moral one that will benefit real babies and families,” said Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International.

“We’re happy the Court has permitted South Carolina to redirect taxpayers’ hard-earned money away from the abortion industry and towards health care providers that protect women and preserve life,” Godsey said. “In today’s decision the Supreme Court effectuates what most Americans already believe: the government cannot force states to make their taxpayers subsidize abortion.”

“This ruling is a victory–and an opportunity–for every state that is motivated to protect the unborn and invest in real healthcare,” he said.

Godsey further remarked that the pregnancy centers and pregnancy help medical clinics in South Carolina remain prepared to assist women facing unplanned pregnancy.

“Pregnancy help organizations—already more numerous than abortion providers—stand ready to serve women and their children with life-affirming care,” he said.

The government cannot force states to make their taxpayers subsidize abortion.

Heartbeat International with the Supreme Court in support of South Carolina refocusing its Medicaid spending away from abortion.

McMaster’s 2018 had said abortion providers’ “primary focus on denying the right to life is contrary to and conflicts with the State’s obligation to protect and preserve that right,” and directed the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to exclude abortion providers from taxpayer funds for any purpose, including Medicaid.

“The payment of taxpayer funds to abortion clinics, for any purpose, results in the subsidy of abortion and the denial of the right to life,” it stated.

The Executive Order also recognized the importance of availability of “women’s health and family planning services.”

Planned Parenthood and the South Carolina citizen challenged the order in court, prompting the case, first known as . The district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, interpreting Medicaid rules to say that patients have a "free choice of provider" and an enforceable right to challenge state decisions on provider qualifications. After numerous appeals, the case went before the Supreme Court, which .

the , which, according to its more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in taxpayer funds annually - over $2 million per day - and performs more than 400,000 abortions each year, . Planned Parenthood additionally.

At the same time Planned Parenthood touts its services as healthcare, as of its latest annual report to Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) fully “96.9% of the time, women seeking help related to their pregnancy at Planned Parenthood were sold an abortion rather than given prenatal care, provided care for a miscarriage, or helped to make an adoption plan.”

CLI further reports that according to data from Planned Parenthood’s own annual reports, since 2013 total services are down more than 10%, with changing practice guidelines (updated ACOG guidelines for cervical cancer screening and routine checkups), total cancer screening and prevention services have dropped by 54%, including declines of 61% for breast exams and 54% for pap tests, prenatal services are down 63%, and contraceptive services are down 38%.

According to ADF, the U.S. government, 18 states, numerous members of Congress, various South Carolina medical practitioners, and multiple pro-life advocates submitted friend-of-the-court briefs with the Supreme Court supporting South Carolina’s freedom to direct Medicaid funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood “and toward real, comprehensive health care for its citizens.”

Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.