The American Center for Law and Justice, which repeatedly has assembled for court cases the facts about America’s abortion industry and the millions of dollars it has been demanding from taxpayers to fund its unborn infant-killing operations, has confirmed that a major battle in that war has been won.
But not by the abortion behemoths who went to court insisting they had a constitutional right to tax money.
The ACLJ said the 1st Circuit court has granted a stay that allows Section 71113 to take effect even in the states that sued.
“With no viable legal theory remaining, the coalition has now dismissed its own case, seeing the writing on the wall,” the ACLJ reported.
“Let’s be clear about what happened: The states suing to force Planned Parenthood funding chose to walk away. They did not win a favorable ruling. They did not get a compromise. They dismissed their own case. Every legal argument the abortion lobby put forward – unconstitutional bill of attainder, First Amendment associational rights, Spending Clause violations – was rejected. Seven briefs – every case a win. Zero wins for the abortion lobby,” the ACLJ documented.
The organization said the same dispute has arisen several times, and the most recent abortion industry loss, in California et al. v. HHS, came after abortionists demanded that the government resupply Planned Parenthood funding.
The ACLJ explained, “When President Trump signed the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on July 4, 2025, cutting off federal Medicaid reimbursements to large abortion providers under Section 71113, the abortion industry immediately launched a coordinated, multifront legal assault to force the money to keep flowing.”
One case was launched in Massachusetts, where Planned Parenthood sued to keep its cash flow.
An activist judge claimed Planned Parenthood had a First Amendment right to taxpayer cash, but that was overturned by the 1st Circuit.
Then in Maine, Maine Family Planning sued to keep its tax money and there, the district judge rejected the claims entirely, citing the 1st Circuit’s decision.
“Even as those cases were resolved, California organized a coalition of 22 states to file their own lawsuit – California et al. v. HHS – seeking to reimpose Planned Parenthood funding across their jurisdictions. We filed our seventh amicus brief there, and the First Circuit handed California a decisive defeat, granting a stay that allowed Section 71113 to take effect even in the plaintiff states,” the ACLJ said.
“As monumental as today’s victory is, Section 71113 of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ cuts off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding for one year. The abortion lobby will regroup. The only way to make this permanent is through Congress. The ACLJ will be at the forefront of that fight, just as we have been at every stage of this one,” the legal team explained.
