California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Tuesday that he will be suing the Trump administration for a policy that would effectively defund Planned Parenthood by blocking it from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
Bonta’s lawsuit specifically targets the “Defund Provision,” tucked into the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which prohibited Medicaid reimbursements to any nonprofit that provides abortion and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funding in 2023.
Were the provision to be implemented, Planned Parenthood California Central Coast (PPCCC), stands to lose $17 million annually, or about 60 percent of its revenue.
However, on Monday, the provision was halted by Federal Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts, who ordered a preliminary injunction on the grounds that the provision violated the organization’s First Amendment rights, granting clinics a temporary reprieve.
Bonta’s lawsuit echoed Talwani’s conclusion that the rule is retaliation against Planned Parenthood for continuing to offer abortion services and would unjustly disrupt the preventative care services, such as cancer screenings and STI testing that make up the core of the organization’s medical practice.
Bonta’s announcement noted that the provision is also likely to lead to increased costs of “$30 million over the next five years and $52 million over the next 10 years in Medicaid programs.” It also argues that, despite Republican claims that other clinics could absorb Planned Parenthood patients, too many Americans rely on Planned Parenthood to be sufficiently served elsewhere.
Bonta is co-leading a coalition of 22 attorneys general and one governor in asking the court to “enjoin the Trump administration from implementing this devastating and unlawful provision,” and asserting that the states should not be “co-opted” into executing it.
Another lawsuit filed by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America recently challenged the prohibited Medicaid reimbursements. Last week, a temporary restraining order expired that had been blocking the provision from taking effect. Before this injunction, Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide had found themselves suddenly cut off from Medicaid funding, causing five clinics in other parts of California to temporarily close their doors.
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