Judge Indira Talwani of Boston has stepped in to rescue Planned Parenthood yet again. Yesterday, she issued a 45-page decision ordering the Trump administration to continue paying PP clinics federal Medicaid funds contrary to the contents of the Big Beautiful Bill which outlawed those payments. In essence, Judge Talwani is overruling the US Congress, which passed the law, and the President of the United States who signed it.
A federal judge has again blocked a provision Congress passed in July that stripped federal Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood affiliates, ruling that the language likely places an unconstitutional burden on states to apply vague criteria about the scope of the ban.
Acting on a lawsuit filed in July by 22 Democratic-led states, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday prohibiting the Trump administration from requiring states to figure out which of their health care providers are covered by the ban and stop funding the non-abortion services the clinics provide to Medicaid patients.
Talwani said the Constitution requires Congress to be clear when imposing requirements related to federal funding, so state officials can decide whether to accept what amounts to a restriction on their usual authority.
The ban contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act “does not furnish states with clear notice as to the meaning and application of [the provision’s] criteria” for denying funding, the judge wrote in her 45-page opinion.
I was actually confused when I saw this story. Didn't she already issue this ruling and wasn't it already stayed by an Appeals Court? I remember those things happening so how is this back on her docket?
In fact she did already issue several stays in a very similar case, one brought by Planned Parenthood itself. In September the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals put a stop to it.
The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to put on hold a preliminary injunction issued in July by a lower-court judge who concluded the law likely violated the U.S. Constitution by targeting Planned Parenthood's health centers specifically as punishment for providing abortions...
The U.S. Department of Justice told the 1st Circuit that in halting the provision, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani overrode the judgment of the democratically-elected branches of government that "taxpayer funds should not be used to subsidize certain entities that practice abortion - conduct that many Americans find morally abhorrent."
It said Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, used "flimsy" reasoning to conclude the law constituted an unconstitutional "bill of attainder."
A bill of attainder is a legislative act prohibited by the Constitution that seeks to inflict punishment on a person or group without a trial. The Supreme Court has only invalidated laws passed by Congress five times under that clause, the Justice Department said.
The ruling she issued yesterday involves the same issue, Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, but this one was brought by a group of Democratic Attorneys General. In essence, she took yet another bite at this apple and came to the same conclusion using a new argument. It's a safe bet that this decision will also be appealed and it will also be overruled.
The backdrop to all of this is that Planned Parenthood is going broke and has been closing clinics left and right. The Washington Post did a story about this a few weeks ago.
Planned Parenthood has spent tens of millions of dollars providing health care to low-income patients and has closed 20 clinics in the months since the Trump administration blocked the group from billing Medicaid — but weathering the funding cut on its own will soon become untenable, its leaders say.
The Medicaid ban took effect in July. A provision tucked into President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill cut the funding for health care providers that offer abortions and receive more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements each year for basic reproductive health services such as birth control, prenatal care and cervical cancer screenings...
The 20 clinics the group has closed since the Medicaid ban became law are in addition to more than two dozen Planned Parenthood clinics that shut down earlier this year because of other federal funding cuts. Those that remain open are “being pushed to the brink,” the report said.
In September, a federal appeals court allowed the Medicaid ban to take effect while Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the Trump administration plays out.
In essence, Judge Talwani has been the only thing standing between Planned Parenthood and oblivion. She has issued at least three different orders siding with the group so far. And yet, PP continues to struggle. On Monday, another clinic in Ohio closed permanently. As you'll see in this story, there's another clinic just around the corner which can take on these patients.
Judge Talwani gave the Trump administration 7 days to appeal. My guess is we'll see that happen pretty quickly.
Judge Talwani continues her strong bid for acclaim as worst judge. https://t.co/CuoDLRGrJJ
— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) December 2, 2025
One can only hope...
This might get her removed from the case. https://t.co/UktCdYaEj4
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) December 2, 2025
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