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National Right to Life (NRLC) hailed last week’s Supreme Court decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic as a decisive win for states’ rights and women. The decision paves the way for states to defund abortion providers and redirect taxpayer dollars to clinics that do not perform abortions.
In a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch on June 26, the court upheld South Carolina’s right to exclude Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program, rejecting the abortion giant’s legal challenge to the state’s pro-life policy. The court reversed lower rulings and affirmed that states may withhold Medicaid funds from abortion providers without violating federal law.
Dave Andrusko, communications director for NRLC, argued in a June 27 opinion piece that the ruling “opens the door” in how states approach public health funding.
He highlighted the decision’s broader implications, noting that the court’s opinion acknowledged South Carolina’s existing network of more than 140 federally qualified health centers and pregnancy care clinics — providers already serving women across the state without offering abortion.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., praised the ruling for restoring state authority.
“This decision frees other states to invest in real health care without fear that Planned Parenthood will misuse the court system to block a state’s right to administer its own Medicaid program and choose not to subsidize organizations that pay for elective abortion,” Smith said.
The article emphasized Planned Parenthood’s disproportionate role in the abortion industry — performing more than 60% of all reported US abortions in 2022 — and its reliance on government funding, despite marketing itself as a broad-based health provider.
Andrusko cited journalist Nicole Russell, writing for USA Today, who underscored Planned Parenthood’s deep financial reliance on government funding.
“In past years, about 40% of Planned Parenthood’s budget — more than $500 billion a year — has come from Medicaid and other government sources,” Russell wrote.
“Apologists for Planned Parenthood claim that abortions are only a small percentage of the services the organization provides. Yet, Planned Parenthood’s 2023 annual report shows that it performed nearly 400,000 abortions in 2022,” she continued. “That was more than 60% of all the reported abortions in the United States that year.”
The Charlotte Lozier Institute also challenged claims of irreplaceability, reporting in May 2025 that more than 8,800 community health centers nationwide provide full-spectrum women’s care — far outnumbering Planned Parenthood’s 579 locations.
NRLC framed the Medina decision as a cultural shift that empowers states to fund holistic women’s health care without subsidizing abortion and ending unborn lives.
