US judge blocks Trump from cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 22 states

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BOSTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Tuesday blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing in 22 states a provision of the Republican’s signature tax and domestic policy bill that would deprive Planned Parenthood and local affiliates that perform abortions of Medicaid funding.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston said a group of Democratic state attorneys general who had challenged the provision were likely to succeed in establishing that the law constitutes an unconstitutional retroactive condition on their participation in the Medicaid healthcare program.

The judge, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, put her preliminary injunction on hold for seven days to allow the administration to appeal. 

She had previously, on other grounds in a separate case by Planned Parenthood, blocked the law from being implemented. But a federal appeals court put that decision on hold in September while it weighed the administration’s appeal.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by the Republican-led Congress, bars Medicaid funding for tax-exempt organizations that provide family planning and reproductive health services if they perform abortions and received more than $800,000 in Medicaid funds during the 2023 fiscal year.

Planned Parenthood says the law is already having devastating effects, noting that at least 20 health centers have closed since September, when the appeals court allowed the law to take effect. 

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Franklin Paul, Rod Nickel)