COLUMBIA, S.C. (Thursday, June 26, 2025) – In a 6-3 ruling described as a landmark opinion, the United States Supreme Court decreed today that South Carolina has a state’s right to exclude abortion businesses, specifically Planned Parenthood, from its state Medicaid
program.
“The case centered on South
Carolina’s decision to terminate Planned Parenthood South Atlantic from its Medicaid program due to its involvement in abortion,” according to a statement from the National Right to Life Committee summarizing the landmark opinion. “The Court ruled that Medicaid functions as a contract between the states and federal government, and as such, the ‘any-qualified-provider’ provision does not confer a clear and unambiguous individual right.”
“Seven years ago, we took a stand to protect the sanctity of life and defend South Carolina’s authority and values,” Governor Henry McMaster said in reaction to the opinion in the case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “The legality of my executive order prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortion providers like Planned
Parenthood has been affirmed by the highest court in the land.”
The case originates from Governor McMaster’s executive order in 2018 directing the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to remove abortion clinics from South Carolina’s Medicaid provider list. Previously the U.S. 4th
Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against South Carolina’s exclusion of Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds. “Today’s decision reversed that ruling and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion,” the Governor said.
Lisa Van Riper,
President of South Carolina Citizens for Life, thanked Governor McMaster “for his courageous stand for mothers and their unborn children to ensure the most life-affirming care and his stand for South Carolina taxpayers to ensure that state dollars are distributed in a manner most consistent with our citizens’ values.”
Palmetto Family Council President Dr. Steve Pettit said, “We are deeply grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for recognizing South Carolina’s right to govern in alignment with the pro-life values held by so many of its people.”
Alliance Defending Freedom, a national pro-life legal
organization that represented the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services praised the decision. “The high court’s ruling means that the state can direct Medicaid funding – funds intended to help low-income individuals obtain necessary medical assistance – to comprehensive health care rather than entities that exit primarily to perform abortions.”
Carol Tobias, President of the National Right to Life Committee, stated, “We are grateful the Supreme Court has recognized the right of states to direct taxpayer dollars toward life-affirming health care. No one should be forced to subsidize the abortion industry with their tax dollars.”
State Attorney General Alan Wilson stated, “The court emphasized that Medicaid is a cooperative partnership between the states and federal government, not an entitlement program for politically connected providers. This is about who runs South Carolina, our elected leaders, or out-of-state activists and unelected judges.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who along with Senator Tim Scott and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, filed an amicus brief (friend of the court) in the case, said Tuesday, “This is one of the most consequential rulings in the history of the Supreme Court for the pro-life movement, reaffirming states’ ability to protect the unborn. South Carolina’s decision to deny Planned Parenthood the ability to receive Medicaid funding was the right decision for the
taxpayer and the pro-life movement.”
Senator Scott posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Life wins. Government should never be in the business of killing babies in the womb.”
In 2023 there were 8,181 reported abortions in South Carolina according to the S.C. Department of Public Health’s abortion data report. Of those, Planned Parenthood facilities in Columbia and Charleston reported 2,970 abortions.
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