WASHINGTON — Today, the Supreme Court ruled that states can deny Medicaid patients coverage for basic health services provided through Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest family planning provider, and over two million patients annually rely on its services to access prenatal and postpartum care, cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing, and preventative care.
Following this ruling for South Carolina, a wave of other red states are sure to follow suit to block Medicaid coverage for Planned Parenthood services and take away the freedom of Americans to choose their own health care provider. While Democratic-led states are fighting to expand health care for communities, Republican-controlled states are escalating their attacks on the full spectrum of reproductive care, with potentially deadly consequences.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:
“With an extreme U.S. Supreme Court and the Trump administration hellbent on stripping Americans of life-saving health care, the balance of power in the states is the firewall for protecting patients and their access to care. My heart breaks for South Carolinians who now face serious obstacles in accessing preventative care through Planned Parenthood, and other red states are sure to follow this dangerous playbook.
“Let’s be clear: Republicans are weaponizing anti-abortion extremism to deny low-income Americans choices around basic health care. State Democrats continue to be on the frontlines of pushing back against the extremism coming out of DC. The strongest path to stop this assault on Americans’ core freedoms is to strengthen the blue firewall in the states.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the campaign arm of Democratic state legislatures and leads the national strategy for building power and winning new majorities. Over the last three decades, we have strategized cycle over cycle to win majorities and lead the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level, winning nearly a dozen new chamber majorities over the last decade. Our work has ensured that nearly half of Americans are represented by at least one Democratic majority in their statehouse. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class and advancing opportunity, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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