Planned Parenthood sues Trump administration over funding cuts
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) sued the Trump administration on 7 July 2025 over a provision in Trump’s domestic policy bill that would strip funding from over 200 of their clinics providing reproductive healthcare and abortion, forcing them to close. In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Planned Parenthood said the provision was unconstitutional, and its clear purpose was to prevent their nearly 600 health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, which cover costs for patients unable to pay privately for their care.
A federal judge in Boston on 7 July 2025 endorsed Planned Parenthood’s request for a temporary restraining order that blocks the Trump administration from implementing a provision in the recently passed GOP megabill that would “defund” the organization for a year.
The order from US District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, blocks the provision’s enforcement for 14 days. The measure would bar Medicaid users from coverage with a health care provider that also provides abortion services.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America – along with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah argued that the funding ban would have devastating consequences across the country.
While the legislation, which Trump signed on Friday, does not explicitly mention Planned Parenthood, the nationwide family planning and health care provider is in its crosshairs. The law prohibits federal funding for providers “primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care” that also provide abortion.
Planned Parenthood has warned that nearly 200 clinics nationwide – which also provide birth control, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screening – could close as a result of the bill’s one-year ban on funds. Ninety percent of those clinics, Planned Parenthood says, are in states where abortion is legal.
“This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center, and we will make that clear in court,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.
The bill originally barred funds for ten years, before the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, reduced the measure to one year.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the two local networks celebrated Monday’s order, while warning in a statement of the consequences if the provision is ultimately allowed to take effect. “Already, in states across the country, providers and health center staff have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care because President Trump and his backers in Congress passed a law to block them from going to Planned Parenthood,” the groups said. “There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand.”
SOURCES: The Guardian USA. 7 July 2025 ; CNN Politics, 7 July 2025
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Three years have passed since Roe v. Wade was illegally struck down
Last month marked the third anniversary of the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, unraveling nearly 50 years of legal protection for abortion in the U.S. However, abortion is still an option—even in states with bans—thanks to medical abortion pills, which can be sent through the mail.
To celebrate the continuing nationwide accessibility of abortion pills, Mayday Health took out a series of cheeky ads in the hometown newspapers of each of the five Supreme Court justices who struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022: Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
SOURCE: Ms Magazine, by Ava Slocum, 7 July 2025
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California bill would protect doctors who mail abortion medication to patients
California is on the verge of passing a new law that would allow providers there to anonymously mail abortion medication to patients, both in the state and to locations outside the state. Advocates are hopeful it will allow for more providers to feel safe engaging in telemedicine in order to provide abortion care. If it becomes law, it could affect patients across the country.
SOURCE: National Public Radio, by Katia Riddle, 7 July 2025.
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Missouri clinics restart surgical abortions after judge’s ruling
Clinics throughout the state of Missouri restarted surgical abortions on 7 July after a judge ruled that a recently passed voter-approved amendment to the state’s restricted abortion law overcame most of the state’s restrictions, but not medical abortion pill provision. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services confirmed on 7 July that surgical abortions throughout the state had been cleared to resume. Missouri clinics that want to offer medical abortion pills, however, still require a health department-approved “complication plan”, according to the Department.
SOURCE: KSDK News, Hunter Bassler, 7 July 2025.
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Food & Drug Administration prevails in anti-abortion suit over mifepristone safety: an important victory
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held off a legal challenge from a coalition of blue states over the abortion pill, mifepristone, after a federal district court concluded the agency came to a “reasonable conclusion” regarding its safety.
“Even under a deferential review, it appears FDA fully considered the important aspect of the issues in this case and came to a reasonable conclusion,” said Judge Thomas O. Rice on Tuesday in an order for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, granting the FDA summary judgment and vacating a preliminary injunction.
“The FDA did not ignore the laws that apply nor the regulations,” Judge Rice added.
The order is a win for the FDA after mostly Democratic-led states, led by Washington state, sued the FDA to eliminate prescriber certification requirements and a patient agreement form on the drug.
Please check this is correct, but it seems the request from the most science-ignorant members of Congress (like RFK Junior) to force the FDA to check anew whether mifepristone is as safe as the FDA has said it is for the last many years, was totally rejected, when the judge said: “It appears FDA fully considered the important aspect of the issues in this case and came to a reasonable conclusion….The FDA did not ignore the laws that apply nor the regulations.” So thanks to Judge Thomas O. Rice, that’s a major victory. Even though t fewer restrictions were not granted either, to the mainly Democratic states who sought them. Another day!!!
SOURCE: Bloomberg Law, by Sam Skolnik, Nyah Phengsitthy, 9 July 2025.