While U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski negotiated a few carve-outs for Alaska in Trump’s megabill, she didn’t get an exemption to a rule barring Medicaid from being used at Planned Parenthood clinics despite local advocates’ warnings it could close the state’s two clinics.
But those clinics will get some breathing room, at least for now.
Planned Parenthood got a temporary break on Monday, when a district court judge ruled that the federal government cannot withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood as a lawsuit challenging the provisions moves forward. The pause is set to last two weeks, and could be extended or appealed.
The quick temporary injunction comes just days after Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the law.
In an orchestrated attack on Planned Parenthood, Republicans included a provision that blocks Medicaid from being used at any health care facilities that provides abortions for up to one year. While federal funding is already prohibited from being used on abortions, the provisions would have barred people on Medicaid from using Planned Parenthood for routine care like birth control, cancer screenings and STI treatment, which account for a vast majority of visits to the clinics.
Ahead of the vote, advocates warned that the loss of Medicaid patients could lead to cuts at the state’s two remaining clinics in Anchorage and Fairbanks, potentially resulting in their closure in the future. But, at least for now, closures don’t look like they’re on the table.
Following the bill’s passage, Planned Parenthood leadership pledged to keep the state’s clinics open and provide coverage regardless of a person’s income, background or immigration status.
In a written statement following Monday’s order, Rebecca Gibron, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Greater Northwest, said it’s important to stand up for access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortions, and that they’ll continue to fight for that right.
“Planned Parenthood health centers are a critical part of Alaska’s health care infrastructure,” she said. “When politicians — like the entire Alaska delegation — try to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood, they’re creating a crisis that will leave cancers undetected, STIs untreated, and birth control out of reach. Alaskans know how hard it already is to get timely, affordable care. This lawsuit is about ensuring that those barriers don’t get worse. We should be expanding access to care, not shutting down the places that provide it. Regardless of the outcome, Planned Parenthood will continue to provide compassionate, high-quality, judgment-free care. That’s our promise to every patient who walks through our doors.”
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
