Planned Parenthood sues Trump over "defund" provision
Why it matters: Planned Parenthood has called the provision a "backdoor abortion ban" and said it could lead to the closure of some 200 affiliated clinics nationwide.
Driving the news: The just-passed reconciliation bill includes a provision that effectively cut off Planned Parenthood and other large organizations that offer abortions from federal Medicaid funding for one year.
Republicans lawmakers originally pressed for a 10-year ban but dialed back the duration while the Senate parliamentarian reviewed whether the prohibition was in order.
The lawsuit also comes after the Supreme Court late last month ruled Medicaid patients don't have a right to freely choose their medical provider, in a South Carolina case that centered around state funding for Planned Parenthood.
What they're saying: "The Defund Provision is a naked attempt to leverage the government's spending power to attack and penalize Planned Parenthood and impermissibly single it out for unfavorable treatment," the organization said in the filing in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
"There is no legitimate justification for the statute; rather, the true design of the Defund Provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood," the group stated in the complaint.
More than 1 million Medicaid patients annually access health services through Planned Parenthood affiliates, they said.
The suit names HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, as well as the health department, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and his agency.
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