Planned Parenthood’s State Medicaid Funding Protected After Supreme Court Decides Not To Hear Case
The decision drew rebukes from the court's more conservative judges, with Justice Clarence Thomas saying his colleagues' refusal to hear the case over Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood was politically motivated. “What explains the court’s refusal to do its job here? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood,’” Thomas wrote.
The Associated Press:
Justices Won't Hear States' Appeal Over Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court on Monday avoided a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, over the dissenting votes of three justices. The court's order reflected a split among its conservative justices and an accusation from Justice Clarence Thomas that his colleagues seemed to be ducking the case for political reasons. New Justice Brett Kavanaugh was among the justices who opted not to hear the case. (12/10)
The New York Times:
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Planned Parenthood Cases, And 3 Court Conservatives Aren’t Happy
It takes four votes to add a case to the court’s docket, but the cases attracted only three — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch. Neither of the court’s other conservatives — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — proved willing to supply a fourth vote. That split on the right side of the court is evidence that Chief Justice Roberts is trying to keep the court out of major controversies and that Justice Kavanaugh, who joined the court in October after a fierce confirmation battle, is, for now at least, following his lead. In his dissent, Justice Thomas questioned his colleagues’ motives. They had voted to duck the cases, he wrote, for a bad reason. (Liptak, 12/10)
The Washington Post:
Supreme Court Declines To Review Rulings That Blocked Efforts To End Planned Parenthood Funding
“Some tenuous connection to a politically fraught issue does not justify abdicating our judicial duty,” Thomas wrote. “If anything, neutrally applying the law is all the more important when political issues are in the background.” (Barnes, 12/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Kavanaugh And Roberts Join Liberals To Reject Planned Parenthood Case
The lower courts are divided on the Medicaid funding dispute, making the high court’s refusal to clarify the issue all the more surprising to some. “We created the confusion. We should clear it up,” Thomas wrote in Gee vs. Planned Parenthood. “So what explains the court’s refusal to do its job here? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood.’ ” (Savage, 12/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Three Conservative Justices Chide Supreme Court For Not Taking Case Touching On Abortion
Monday’s action leaves in place the lower-court decisions that give Medicaid patients the right to sue over provider issues in much of the country, under rulings from federal appeals courts in Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, New Orleans and San Francisco. An opposite conclusion reached by the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, denies such rights, and it stands in the seven states that court oversees. Typically, the Supreme Court steps in to clarify questions of federal law that divide lower courts. Because the lead case Monday arrived at a preliminary stage and the issue shows no sign of dying down, the question is likely to return to the Supreme Court. (Bravin, 12/10)
Politico:
Kavanaugh, Roberts Side With Liberal Judges On Planned Parenthood Case
Tim Jost, an emeritus professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law, said it's "noteworthy" that Kavanaugh passed on the cases. "If Kavanaugh was going to deal a major blow to health care rights during his first session on the court, this would have been the case to do it," Jost said. The anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List said it was "disappointed" the Supreme Court declined the case, as it called on the Trump administration to quickly finalize rules blocking federal funds to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers through the Title X family planning program. (Ollstein, 12/10)
Bloomberg:
Supreme Court Lets Stand Rulings Favoring Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood said the rebuff preserves Medicaid patients’ access to birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases. “We are pleased that lower court rulings protecting patients remain in place," Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "Every person has a fundamental right to health care, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much they earn." (Stohr, 12/10)
Reuters:
Reluctant U.S. Supreme Court On Collision Course With Trump
The U.S. Supreme Court's reluctance to take up new cases on volatile social issues is putting it on a collision course with President Donald Trump, whose Justice Department is trying to rush such disputes through the appeals system to get them before the nine justices as quickly as possible. (Hurley, 12/11)
