WASHINGTON (BP) — The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) filed an amicus brief on Monday (Feb. 10) in a Supreme Court case which will decide the fate of South Carolina’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood by barring abortion clinics in the state from participating in Medicaid programs.

The case, Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, will rule on whether or not the Medicaid Act’s “any-qualified-provider provision,” which allows beneficiaries the right to choose their provider, includes those that perform abortions.

Federal law currently prohibits Medicaid from funding abortions except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.

Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, spoke to the importance of the case in a post-Roe America.

“Following the Dobbs decision, states have a significant responsibility to promote a culture of life, as shown by the numerous pro-life laws taking effect across the nation,” Leatherwood said.

“These states must be able to enforce pro-life laws in totality, including by prohibiting government funds from being used to support abortion providers. Here, South Carolina is exercising its authority to determine who is and is not a qualified Medicaid healthcare provider to prevent taxpayer funds from going to America’s largest abortion provider: Planned Parenthood. As the ERLC urged the Supreme Court in our brief, South Carolina’s executive order must be upheld to allow pro-life states to comply with their own laws and for vulnerable preborn children to be protected.”

Other states that have enacted laws blocking Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding include Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas.

The ERLC’s brief states that by receiving Medicaid funds to perform other services, taxpayers are essentially subsidizing Planned Parenthood’s main focus of performing abortions.

“Planned Parenthood is responsible for more than a third of all induced abortions performed in the United States each year,” the brief states. “A large percentage of its revenue comes from offering abortions. Even as its abortion numbers have risen year after year, the medical services it offers have sharply declined — as have its adoption referrals.”

The brief further argues that Planned Parenthood clinics are not needed to provide prenatal care to expecting mothers, and essentially offer no focus on adoption or continuing with pregnancy.

It reiterates that Planned Parenthood’s main function is performing abortions despite misleading statistics that make it seem as though other services such as birth control and cancer screenings, and not abortion, were the main reasons for patients’ visits.

“Planned Parenthood’s South Carolina locations offer almost no prenatal care for mothers who choose to continue their pregnancies,” the brief states.

“This is nothing new. Planned Parenthood has led the abortion industry from the beginning. It is responsible for the deaths of millions of the preborn children that South Carolina seeks to protect. South Carolina women have hundreds of other options for care, especially in the two large cities where Planned Parenthood’s clinics are located.”

The story of the case began in 2018 when South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order instructing the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to bar abortion clinics from participating in Medicaid.

McMaster gave abortion clinics the option to receive Medicaid funding if they stopped performing abortions, which Planned Parenthood declined.

South Carolina has two Planned Parenthood facilities, one in Charleston and the other in Columbia. McMaster said he did not want any taxpayer funding to go toward abortions and asked the state’s HHS department to deem these clinics unqualified to provide family planning services such as birth control.

Planned Parenthood disagreed and has even made specific efforts to make it easier for Medicaid recipients, often low-income patients, to utilize its services. Some of these efforts include same-day appointments and extended clinic hours.

One such Medicaid recipient is Julie Edwards, who went to a South Carolina Planned Parenthood for birth control and has said she desires to return to the clinic to receive other care in the future.

Edwards and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit arguing South Carolina’s ban on Planned Parenthood receiving Medicaid funds violates a Medicaid provision allowing any patient who is eligible for Medicaid to seek health care from any “qualified” provider.

A federal district court in South Carolina sided with Edwards and Planned Parenthood and blocked the state’s ban. The district court’s ruling was then upheld by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

This prompted South Carolina, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, to take the case to the Supreme Court, asking the justices whether Planned Parenthood has the right to sue on the matter.

South Carolina argues that multiple federal courts of appeal have subjected states to lawsuits on this issue that Congress never intended, which is why the Supreme Court must intervene.

The official question to be examined in the case is:

“Whether the Medicaid Act’s any-qualified-provider provision unambiguously confers a private right upon a Medicaid beneficiary to choose a specific provider.”

After the High Court considered South Carolina’s petition at nine consecutive conferences, the justices finally agreed to take up the case on Dec. 18, 2024.

The case was originally filed as Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. Planned Parenthood and Edwards are named as defendants, while then South Carolina Director of Health and South Carolina Health and Human Services Robert Kerr was named as the petitioner.

Since the case was filed with the Supreme Court, Kerr is no longer in this role, and Eunice Medina has become the interim director of South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to the ERLC’s amicus brief, Gov. McMaster also filed an amicus brief in the case on Monday.

“This case is about protecting the sanctity of life and preserving South Carolina’s right to govern itself in a way that reflects the values of its people,” McMaster said in a press release.

“South Carolina has made it clear that we value the right to life. Therefore, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize abortion providers who are in direct opposition to their beliefs. Just as I was in 2018, I am confident in our authority to terminate funding for Planned Parenthood, and I trust that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree.” 

South Carolina senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), along with Representative Ralph Norman, filed an additional amicus brief.

Oral arguments are expected April 2.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Timothy Cockes is news editor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.)