US Supreme Court to rule on South Carolina bid to defund abortion service provider – JURIST
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday for South Carolina to remove Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid coverage since it performs abortions.
The petitioners, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, raised several issues of interpretation of the federal Medicaid Act. They argued that the provision did not use affirmative language within the statute’s text to create a right for consumers, nor was the provision within a larger Bill of Rights, which would have indicated the intent to confer a right. The government raised these interpretation arguments to show that abortion is not a constitutional right in South Carolina.
Justice Clarence Thomas questioned the petitioner’s “significant” usage of the word “right” to lay the foundation of their argument. The petitioner responded that right is the best word to convey the law, with the only permissible substitutes “privilege” and “entitlement.”
The respondent, Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic urged the court to look to the surrounding statutory language, noting that the Family Planning provision confirmed that individual patients’ choice of medical service providers in Medicaid is protected by law. The respondents claimed that the legislature intended was to make the provision at issue an individual’s right because states were artificially limiting Medicaid providers, which leads to poor outcomes for individual patients. Finally, the respondents assert that there is no adequate federal remedy.
Justice Thomas questioned the language choice that Congress required under the Spending Clause. He questioned if “exacting language” is required to create a right. Respondents noted that Congress has “spoken clearly” by abiding the court’s precedent even if exact language is necessary.
US courts have grappled with abortion cases since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. An Idaho court issued a preliminary injunction on an abortion ban. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made the first arrest of an abortion provider in March.
The court will make a final ruling on the case during the 2024-2025 term.
