The majority opinion, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, ruled that there is no right to sue over McMaster鈥檚 order.
鈥淭he job of resolving how best to weigh those competing costs and benefits belong to the people鈥檚 elected representatives, not unelected judges charged with applying the law as they find it,鈥 Gorsuch said in the majority opinion.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a scathing dissent, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in which she claimed the 鈥減roject of stymying one of the country鈥檚 great civil rights laws continues,鈥 referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1871.
鈥淭hat venerable provision permits any citizen to obtain redress in federal court for 鈥榯he deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws鈥 of the United States. South Carolina asks us to hollow out that provision so that the State can evade liability for violating the rights of its Medicaid recipients to choose their own doctors,鈥 Jackson said.
鈥淭he Court abides South Carolina鈥檚 request. I would not. For that reason, I respectfully dissent,鈥 Jackson added.
While the question at the center of the case was not directly tied to abortion, the decision paves the way for other states to strip abortion providers鈥 ability to receive Medicaid funds.
Katie Daniel, director of legal affairs and policy counsel for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, hailed the decision and said Planned Parenthood was 鈥渞ightly disqualified鈥 from receiving Medicaid funds.
鈥淏y rejecting Planned Parenthood鈥檚 lawfare, the Court not only saves countless unborn babies from a violent death and their mothers from dangerously shoddy 鈥榗are,鈥 it also protects Medicaid from exposure to thousands of lawsuits from unqualified providers that would jeopardize the entire program,鈥 Daniel said Thursday.
REPUBLICANS SETTLE INTO POST-DOBBS REALITY FOR 2026 ELECTION
鈥淧ro-life Republican leaders are eliminating government waste and prioritizing Medicaid for those who need it most 鈥 women, children, the poor, people with disabilities. Planned Parenthood was rightly disqualified,鈥 she added.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.