CNN
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A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a provision of President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy law to defund Planned Parenthood’s health care services.
The order from US District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, blocks the provision’s enforcement for 14 days. The measure would bar Medicaid users from coverage with a health care provider that also provides abortion services.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America – along with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah – sued the administration earlier Monday, arguing that the funding ban would have devastating consequences across the country.
While the legislation, which Trump signed on Friday, does not explicitly mention Planned Parenthood, the nationwide family planning and health care provider is in its crosshairs. The law prohibits federal funding for providers “primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care” that also provide abortion.
Planned Parenthood has warned that nearly 200 clinics nationwide – which also provide birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screening – could close as a result of the bill’s one-year ban on funds.
Ninety percent of those clinics, Planned Parenthood says, are in states where abortion is legal.
“This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center, and we will make that clear in court,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.
The bill originally barred funds for ten years, before the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, reduced the measure to one year.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the two local networks celebrated Monday’s order, while warning in a statement of the consequences if the provision is ultimately allowed to take effect.
“Already, in states across the country, providers and health center staff have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care because President Trump and his backers in Congress passed a law to block them from going to Planned Parenthood,” the groups said. “There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for comment.
Earlier Monday, anti-abortion advocates quickly railed against Planned Parenthood’s suit.
“Planned Parenthood’s desperation is showing as they run to the courts again to fix a crisis of their own making,” said Susan B. Anthony’s Pro-Life America director of legal affairs and policy counsel Katie Daniel.
Planned Parenthood is also battling the Trump administration in court over cuts to a federal teen pregnancy prevention program. Lawyers for five Planned Parenthood networks argued in a federal District of Columbia court this June that administration’s changes to the program, including limits on language around diversity and equity, were vague and could bar Planned Parenthood from providing longtime services.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
