A federal judge from the United States issued a preliminary court order on Monday that blocks the withdrawal of public funds from the Planned Parenthood clinics network, the country’s largest abortion provider.
According to a statement from the organization, this means that patients can use the Public Health Plan Medicaid in their centers, and clinics can receive refunds for the services provided.
Judge Indira Talwani, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, said in her decision that “restricting members’ ability to provide health services threatens with an increase in unintentional pregnancies and associated complications due to reduced access to effective contraceptives, as well as an increase in ISTs [Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis] not diagnosed or treated ”.
Planned Parenthood had filed a lawsuit earlier this month to the Massachusetts district, after signing by US President Donald Trump, from a law that prevented patients from using Medicaid in their health centers across the country.
“We will continue to fight this cruel law so that all people can access contraceptives, IST tests, cancer detection tests and other essential health services, regardless of the type of health insurance they have,” Planned Parenthood’s president and director general, Alexis McGill Johnson said.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement that the decision “is not only absurd but also illogical and incorrect.” The Trump administration is already appealing from a previous decision by Talwani in the same case, according to Reuters agency.
“These are orders that show the audacity of the lower courts, as well as chaos within the judiciary,” said Fields. “We eagerly await the final victory on the issue.”
