An appeals court panel has upheld the Trump administration’s authority to prevent Planned Parenthood Federation of America from obtaining Medicaid funds, overturning a previous lower court ruling.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an order against two injunctions that had been issued by a district court, which had temporarily blocked the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
“We denied without prejudice as premature the defendants' motion to stay the injunctions pending the disposition of those appeals, while a motion for similar relief was pending in the district court,” read the order.
“The July 21, 2025, preliminary injunction and the July 28, 2025, preliminary injunction are hereby stayed pending disposition of the respective appeals.”
The appeals court panel also approved requests from the state of Louisiana and the conservative law firm, the American Center for Law & Justice, to file amicus briefs in the case.
Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson criticized the ruling in a statement, asserting that, “patients and providers are in limbo.”
“Patients who rely on the essential health care that Planned Parenthood health centers provide, can’t plan for their futures, decide where they go for care, or control their lives, bodies, and futures — all because the Trump administration and its backers want to attack Planned Parenthood and shut down health centers,” Johnson claimed.
Meanwhile, Operation Rescue President Troy Newman expressed his gratitude for the court’s decision, stating he was thankful that the lower court ruling was overturned.
“Planned Parenthood is quickly running out of friends in high and dark places, and we praise God for it,” he said in a statement. “Over 40 Planned Parenthoods have already closed — we expect that number to grow over the coming weeks, and we’ll celebrate every one.”
“Planned Parenthood never deserved one American dollar of taxpayer funds, and when abortion clinics close, babies are saved.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included a one-year pause on federal funding for Planned Parenthood, along with restrictions on federal funding for entities that provide abortions.
A lawsuit was filed in response to this legislation by the national Planned Parenthood organization, as well as Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.
In July, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts partially blocked the provision, stating in part that “the law imposes an unconstitutional condition on those Members and Planned Parenthood Federation’s First Amendment right of association.”
