Ocean County Leader

The Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case Medina v. Planned Parenthood, focusing on whether states can stop funding Planned Parenthood through Medicaid. The issue arose after South Carolina decided in 2018 to direct its Medicaid funding towards other health care options rather than Planned Parenthood.

Representative Chris Smith, Co-Chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, expressed his views on the matter, stating, “In 2018, South Carolina rightly decided to make its federal and state Medicaid dollars available for real, life-affirming health care options instead of using them to fund abortion giant Planned Parenthood.”

Smith criticized Planned Parenthood, saying, “Planned Parenthood, ‘Child Abuse Incorporated,’ immediately took to the courts to try to block South Carolina’s right to administer the Medicaid program and not subsidize organizations that pay for elective abortion.”

Smith argued that taxpayers should not be forced to support through Medicaid what he describes as an industry that views “the precious life of an unborn child as analogous to a tumor to be excised or a disease to be vanquished.” He believes states should invest in comprehensive health care services, particularly for women and families in need.

The 2018 decision by South Carolina declared abortion clinics ineligible for Medicaid funding because of their involvement in abortions and limited service offerings. This move led to a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood, which Smith claims is responsible for “kill[ing] 1000 unborn babies every day.”

On the issue of Medicaid funding, Smith pointed out, “The multibillion-dollar abortion industry cleverly markets the sophistry of choice while going to extraordinary lengths to ignore, trivialize, and cover-up the battered baby-victim.” He argued that “the child decapitation, dismemberment and starvation that occur at Planned Parenthood is not health care.”

He highlighted that Medicaid reimbursements form the largest part of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding, totaling $1.5 billion over three years. Smith joined a Congressional amicus brief arguing that §1983 of the Medicaid Act does not give Medicaid recipients a privately enforceable right, emphasizing the states' authority to determine eligible service providers.

Concluding, Smith expressed his appreciation for South Carolina's leadership and the legal expertise of the Alliance Defending Freedom and other attorneys involved. He actively participated in amicus briefs supporting South Carolina's stance against Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, joining them in April 2020, May 2022, and July 2024.