Amy Coney Barrett Could Give Supreme Court Win To Planned Parenthood

Amy Coney Barrett, Conservative Supreme Court justice, appears to want Planned Parenthood to remain an option on Medicaid.

What It Matters

South Carolina is seeking to exclude Planned Parenthood from the health care assistance program, Medicaid, because it is an abortion provider, even though abortion is only available on Medicaid in very limited circumstances, such a threat to the life of the mother.

South Carolina's Planned Parenthood Medicaid ban is total and includes everything from contraception to health checkups. Should South Carolina succeed in the Supreme Court, other conservative states will likely block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid.

Newsweek sought email comment from Planned Parenthood and the office of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Friday.

What To Know

During Supreme Court oral arguments on April 2, Barrett repeatedly appeared to take the side of liberal Supreme Court justices in questioning attorney John Bursch, who was presenting South Carolina.

Barrett, a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court, strongly backed the position taken by liberal judge, Elena Kagan, and imagined a scenario where a South Carolina Medicaid beneficiary wanted to see a Dr. Jones but was being unfairly blocked by the state.

Barrett said: "Mr. Bursch, I mean, don't you think -- you know, if I want to go see Dr. Jones, and Dr. Jones, that's the provider of my choice, and the state has disqualified Dr. Jones, and, as Justice Kagan points out, you know, the statute says 'may obtain the benefits,' there's no mechanism, am I right, for the beneficiary to say, well, you're depriving me of my ability -- we won't call it right; we won't use the loaded word -- but my ability to see the provider of my choice, and nobody is disputing that Dr. Jones can provide the services in a competent way that I want to have?"

According to the Supreme Court transcript, Barrett later backed liberal judge, Sonia Sotomayor, in pointing out that low-income Medicaid recipients had to take the risk that they would not be reimbursed for some services.

"The beneficiary remedy, as Justice Sotomayor pointed out, that's if your claim is denied, right? So then that's the beneficiary taking the risk, going to the provider she wants to see, and then potentially having to pay out of pocket, right?"

What People Are Saying

Planned Parenthood said in a statement: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed three times that people who use Medicaid as their insurance have the right to visit any qualified family planning provider that accepts Medicaid, including those that provide abortion, like Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and that patients can sue to enforce that right."

Conservative group, Alliance Defending Freedom, which provided legal services to South Carolina for the case, said in a statement that the case was about fighting abortion providers.

"ADF is defending the ability of pro-life states like South Carolina to direct Medicaid funds away from abortion giants like Planned Parenthood. Medicaid funds should be used to protect life, not destroy it. No citizen should be forced to fund facilities that perform life-ending and medically fraught procedures like abortion," it said.

What Happens Next

It is not yet known when the Supreme Court will reach a decision, but it will aim to conclude the case by the end of June.

The Supreme Court website states: "Oral arguments typically conclude in April and for the remainder of the term the Court releases orders and opinions."