On July 29, 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong led a coalition of 22 state attorneys general plus the state of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump administration and the Department of Health and Human Services to block their unconstitutional efforts to strip federal Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood and its member health centers.

Planned Parenthood and its health centers provide critical primary healthcare services to millions of patients across the plaintiff states, and tens of millions of residents of the plaintiff states are Medicaid enrollees. The recent congressional reconciliation bill punished Planned Parenthood and its affiliate health centers for advocating for reproductive choice by forcing states to disqualify Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursement. Congress’s defunding provision does not impact abortion care—federal law has long prohibited the use of federal funds to cover abortions aside from rare circumstances. Instead, prohibiting Medicaid payments to reimburse Planned Parenthood will block patients from receiving such essential care as cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and family planning services. Plaintiff states will face an untenable choice of foregoing the essential healthcare services that Planned Parenthood provides, likely leading to delays in diagnoses, unplanned pregnancies, and increased long-term medical costs; or giving up hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursement.

As the defunding provision is retaliation for Planned Parenthood’s work to advance reproductive rights, including abortion care (which constitutes less than 5% of the services provided by Planned Parenthood’s health centers), the defund provision is a violation of the organization’s First Amendment rights. Because states ultimately are responsible for administering Medicaid reimbursement to healthcare providers, the provision forces states to carry out these unconstitutional acts. The plaintiff states have asked the court to declare the provision unconstitutional and to block its enforcement.

On December 2, 2025, a district court issued a preliminary injunction blocking HHS from implementing or enforcing the rules that it developed to block Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursement in plaintiff states, preserving Planned Parenthood’s funding as the case moves forward. On December 30, 2025, a three judge-panel suspended the lower court injunction that had blocked the enforcement of the law. On March 17, 2026, the coalition moved to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice. 

Let me be clear: Federal funds don’t pay for abortions. This provision is purely retaliation against Planned Parenthood for its constitutionally protected advocacy for abortion care. The President and Congress are implementing a cruel, backdoor abortion ban through this provision, putting their political agendas over people’s lives. This will wreak havoc on healthcare services from cancer screenings to STI testing for millions of Americans who have nowhere else to turn. California will continue to lead as a reproductive freedom state — and we will be there every single time the federal administration tries to strip away your healthcare rights and ignore the rule of law. Attorney General Rob Bonta

The federal government is once again playing politics with our health care system, with devastating consequences. This administration’s shameful and illegal targeting of Planned Parenthood will make it harder for millions of people to get the health care they need. New York will not be bullied into enforcing this unconstitutional attack on health care and reproductive freedom.Attorney General Letitia James