Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 22 states, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a provision in the sweeping budget reconciliation law (Defund Provision) that eliminates the use of federal funding for any health care services provided by Planned Parenthood health centers. This provision is a direct attack on access to health care for millions of low-income Americans, disproportionately affecting women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color. Existing federal law already disallows federal funding for abortion, but this new provision is targeting other essential services that Planned Parenthood provides.

“Planned Parenthood is a critical provider of essential health care,” Raoul said. “Without Planned Parenthood, many in our state and across the nation would be left with no access to life-saving screenings and reproductive care. I will continue advocating for vital federal funding that ensures every person in Illinois has access to the health care services they need.”

 The federal budget reconciliation law is a sweeping Republican-led bill signed by the president last month. Among its many provisions, one of the most detrimental sections is a clause that blocks federal Medicaid funding for essential medical services such as cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and wellness exams provided at Planned Parenthood health centers.

 Defunding Planned Parenthood threatens at least 200 health centers nationwide, affecting health care for more than 1.1 million people, many of whom are unlikely to receive care elsewhere. Despite claims by Republican lawmakers that other health care centers can absorb these patients, recent findings from the Guttmacher Institute indicated that alternative providers do not have the capacity to serve the number of Americans who currently rely on Planned Parenthood for their health care.

 Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the prohibition on Medicaid reimbursements. On Monday, the court in that suit granted PPFA a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from cutting off Medicaid funding for those plaintiffs.

 Attorney Raoul and the coalition are asking the court to block the Trump administration from implementing this devastating and unlawful provision, which will lead to widespread disruptions in preventative care and increase health care costs if allowed to stand. In today’s filing, the attorneys general argue that the Defund Provision, which prohibits Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood, is impermissibly ambiguous and violates the Constitution’s spending clause. They highlight that the provision is likely to increase health risks, including delayed diagnoses of STIs and cancer and increased unintended pregnancies, which will result not only in widespread and devastating effects on the health of our most vulnerable residents, but also increased costs of $30 million over the next five years and $52 million over the next 10 years in Medicaid programs.

Raoul and the attorneys general urge the court to enjoin the Trump administration from implementing the provision to prevent the tremendous harm it will have on public health and the welfare of their states’ residents, as well as the increased costs to the states.

 Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, with the governor of Pennsylvania.