A federal judge has ruled that Maine Family Planning, a network of reproductive health clinics, will not regain access to Medicaid funding while it challenges Trump-era restrictions on abortion providers.
The decision, issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, leaves the organization without federal reimbursements that support care for thousands of low-income patients. The ruling comes despite a separate federal court order last month requiring Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide to continue receiving Medicaid reimbursements while litigation proceeds.
Maine Family Planning operates 18 clinics across the state, serving about 8,000 people annually. Leaders warn they may be forced to cut primary care services for hundreds of patients by the end of October. While abortion accounts for a small portion of its work, the organization provides cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and other health care in one of the poorest and most rural states in the Northeast.
The funding cuts stem from provisions in former President Donald Trump’s signature tax and policy legislation, which blocked Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood and other organizations deemed primarily engaged in family planning services. Although Maine Family Planning does not use Medicaid dollars for abortions, its funding was also halted under the measure.
Attorneys for the organization argued it is unfairly penalized simply because Congress sought to target Planned Parenthood. Judge Walker, appointed by Trump in 2018, disagreed, writing that Congress has authority to withhold funds from conduct not constitutionally protected. He cautioned against judicial interference with what he described as the “end result of democratic processes.”
In a statement, Maine Family Planning president and CEO George Hill said the ruling threatens to destabilize the state’s health system. “Mainers’ health should never be jeopardized by political decisions, and we will continue to fight for them,” he said. The group is weighing an appeal.
Attorneys for the Trump administration declined immediate comment, though Justice Department lawyer Emily Hall previously argued Congress is entitled to prevent federal funds from going to organizations that provide abortions.
The contested provisions apply broadly to providers receiving more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements annually for family planning services, a change critics say was designed to capture both Planned Parenthood and smaller organizations such as Maine Family Planning.
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