Tong: Injunction Protects Planned Parenthood From Unlawful Federal Defunding

by Staff Report

HARTFORD, CT — A Massachusetts judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of the “Defund Provision” that was part of the federal budget bill and was intended to exclude Planned Parenthood, among other organizations, from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements.

The centers provide healthcare service to low-income patients, including cancer screenings, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and birth control.

According to Attorney General William Tong, a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts “preserves access to vital, affordable healthcare for more than 1.1 million people nationwide.”

Tong said the order makes it clear that the Defund Provision is unlawful and that Connecticut and 22 other states are on strong legal footing in their July 29 lawsuit over the provision. On September 24, the coalition filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.

“We’re going to keep fighting to keep partisan politics out of doctors’ offices and to ensure patients everywhere have access to essential healthcare,” Tong said.

According to Tong, in Tuesday’s decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote that:

• The states are likely to succeed on the merits. The court held that the Defund Provision fails to provide clear notice of the full scope of providers that qualify as “prohibited entities,” as required by the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, the court held that the Defund Provision acts as an unlawful retroactive condition because it constitutes a change that the states could not have anticipated when joining Medicaid.
• The Defund Provision would result in irreparable harm to the states if allowed to stay in effect.
• The balance of equities and the public interest favor the states.

In a related lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued an unpublished order on Sept. 11, 2025, granting the Trump Administration’s request to allow the Defund Provision to go into effect.