AG Ford sues Trump administration over Planned Parenthood funding
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced Tuesday he filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
A provision in the sweeping budget law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act directs the federal government to stop Medicaid payments for one year to any abortion provider that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2023.
Planned Parenthood challenged the law in court, and a federal judge on Monday ruled that Planned Parenthood clinics must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding.
Ford, joined by a coalition of 22 Democratic attorneys general and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, filed a separate lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts making their own arguments as to why Planned Parenthood shouldn’t be defunded.
The attorneys general argue the defunding provision in the bill is ambiguous and oversteps Congress’ legal authority. They say that states will be forced to either cripple their health care ecosystems as Planned Parenthood health care centers close, or use their own funds to keep the centers open.
They argue that defunding Planned Parenthood — which provides medical services such as cancer screenings, birth control and wellness exams — would increase health risks, such as delayed diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections and cancer.
Ford and the other plaintiffs say that federal funds already are not allowed to be used to provide abortions except in narrow circumstances. The defund provision in the bill rather seeks to deny access to health centers that provides essential, lifesaving care, they argue in the lawsuit.
“This targeted attack on Planned Parenthood will have disastrous consequences for the health and safety of Nevadans,” Ford said in a statement.
In response to the attorneys general lawsuit, a U.S. Health and Human Services spokesperson said states should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen “political advocacy over patient care,” and said it is a shame those Democratic attorneys general “seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability.”
Ford complaint by hill23602 on Scribd
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
