MAJOR VICTORY: Federal Appeals Court Rejects California’s Attempt To Force Congress To Fund Planned Parenthood

We have incredible news to report: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just handed down a decisive victory in our ongoing battle to defund Planned Parenthood. The court granted a stay that allows Section 71113 – Congress’ law cutting off federal Medicaid payments to large abortion providers – to take effect immediately.

This is a massive defeat for the abortion industry and the 22 states (led by California Governor Gavin Newsom) that have been waging an all-out legal war to force American taxpayers to keep subsidizing Planned Parenthood’s killing of hundreds of thousands of babies every year.

As we reported recently, the ACLJ sought leave to file our seventh amicus brief in this nationwide fight, seeking to support the federal government’s defense of Section 71113 in the First Circuit. While the court’s decision came without considering amicus briefs, it specifically noted that the ACLJ was permitted to file again at the merits stage. Thankfully, the panel’s ruling completely vindicates the constitutional arguments we have been making throughout this campaign.

The appeals court demolished every argument this massive state coalition threw at the law. The states claimed Section 71113 was too vague and didn’t give them adequate notice. The court disagreed. It found the federal government made a “strong showing” that the law’s requirements are sufficiently clear – exactly what we argued in our brief.

This is about the sanctity of innocent human life. Every year, Planned Parenthood ends hundreds of thousands of precious lives. When abortion advocates lose in Congress – as they did when Congress voted to stop taxpayer funding of major abortion businesses – they run to sympathetic judges demanding injunctions. They forum-shop across jurisdictions, hoping to force Americans to keep subsidizing the killing.

Not today. Take action with us as we continue the fight to defund Planned Parenthood permanently.

The First Circuit’s decision allows Section 71113 to take effect immediately in the plaintiff states, which include California, Massachusetts, New York, and 19 others. In practical terms, this means federal Medicaid dollars will no longer flow to Planned Parenthood affiliates in these jurisdictions that meet the law’s criteria.

The court recognized what we’ve been arguing: Section 71113 uses straightforward, objective criteria to identify prohibited entities. Any competent state administrator can understand and apply these requirements. The states don’t claim genuine confusion – they claim it’s burdensome. But as we’ve consistently pointed out, difficulty of compliance is a policy objection, not a constitutional defect.

This is a preliminary but critical victory. The case will continue on the merits, and the ACLJ will be there filing comprehensive briefs defending the constitutionality of defunding the nation’s largest abortion business. The court’s order acknowledged our brief: “The American Center for Law & Justice’s motion for leave to file an amicus brief is DENIED as moot without prejudice to refiling of a compliant motion and amicus brief during merits consideration.” The court decided it wasn’t technically necessary to consider amicus briefs yet, but explicitly noted that our motion for amicus participation can be refiled during the merits phase, and we absolutely will do so.

Make no mistake: The abortion lobby will continue fighting tooth and nail to protect their taxpayer-funded gravy train. But we have something more powerful – the truth, the Constitution, and Americans who refuse to subsidize the destruction of innocent human life.

We’ve filed seven amicus briefs so far in this nationwide battle. We’re prepared to file as many as it takes – all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. The lives of hundreds of thousands of babies hang in the balance.