FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts
[email protected]
410-576-7009
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general filing an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit supporting the plaintiffs in Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Kennedy, a challenge to the Trump administration’s unlawful efforts to defund its health centers.
The so-called Defund Provision, enacted as part of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, blocks federal Medicaid funding for essential medical services such as cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and wellness exams provided at “prohibited entities.” The criteria for a “prohibited entity” were crafted so that this Defund Provision applies almost exclusively to Planned Parenthood, fulfilling a long-standing goal of punishing Planned Parenthood for providing and advocating in support of abortion care.
The Defund Provision threatens at least 200 Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide, affecting healthcare for more than 1.1 million people, many of whom are unlikely to be able to receive care elsewhere.
“The federal government is using access to quality healthcare as a political football.” said Attorney General Brown. “We will not stand by while it strips away essential health services from those who need them most.”
Maryland joined a coalition of 23 states in July in suing the Trump administration over the Defund Provision and filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in September. That case is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Planned Parenthood also filed a parallel challenge. The District Court preliminarily stopped enforcement of the Defund Provision in that case, concluding that Planned Parenthood had demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claims that the Defund Provision violated the First Amendment and the Equal Protection clause, as well as the prohibition on bills of attainder in the United States Constitution. The brief filed today supports that preliminary injunction, highlighting the harm that the Defunding Provision would have on the amici states and their residents.
Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare in the United States. Because many other providers elect not to accept Medicaid patients, Planned Parenthood is often one of the only providers of reproductive healthcare services in rural and underserved areas, the brief states.
In fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Planned Parenthood provided 9.45 million in services across the country, including 425,000 cancer screening and prevention services, 2.2 million contraceptive services, 4.1 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, as well as primary care visits, pregnancy tests and prenatal services. Of those 9.45 million in services, Planned Parenthood provided approximately 400,000 abortion services, a small fraction of the services provided to patients. Planned Parenthood receives no federal funding for abortion care.
The brief states that in many states, other providers do not have the capacity to handle the high volume of patients that Planned Parenthood health centers currently treat. For many states, using state funds to fully reimburse Planned Parenthood for all Medicaid services would strain state finances at a time when states are already dealing with unprecedented levels of federal funding cuts.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Connecticut, California, New York, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
###