Rep. Sykes Issues Statement on Supreme Court Decision on Planned Parenthood
SCOTUS Decision Allows States to Bar Planned Parenthood's Access to Federal Medicaid Funding for Non-Abortion Services
WATCH: Rep. Sykes Deliver Remarks on the Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs Decision from the House Floor
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. This decision would allow states to prevent Planned Parenthood from getting Medicaid reimbursements for care unrelated to abortion, including cancer screenings and contraception. In Ohio, 40 percent of patients at Planned Parenthood are covered by Medicaid, and this decision from the Supreme Court, coupled with the attacks from the Trump Administration and House Republicans, could lead to closures and reduced access to care across the state.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood will compound the disastrous effects of the Dobbs decision – a ruling handed down almost three years ago to the day.
“Planned Parenthood has provided essential reproductive health care services to generations of Ohioans – especially in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, which has one of the largest Planned Parenthood facilities in the state. Their services are designed to help people make lifelong informed choices that focus on responsibility and preventing unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and cancer.
“This decision comes as Ohio’s legislature is gearing up to try and pass one of the most extreme anti-abortion bills in the country – a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in Ohio, criminalize doctors, and treat patients seeking care as criminals and Republicans in D.C. are attempting to snatch away health care access to millions of Americans. We all deserve better than the cruelty of this Administration and Supreme Court decision.”
Earlier this year, Rep. Sykes led a letter with 74 Members of Congress to Speaker Mike Johnson, urging him to protect Medicaid, which provides access to essential health care, including reproductive health care. The reconciliation bill passed by House Republicans threatens to cut funding of many essential programs, including making significant cuts to Medicaid programs and prohibiting Medicaid reimbursement at Planned Parenthood. These provisions will have detrimental effects on access to care and could close one-third of Planned Parenthood health centers across the country, including those in Ohio.
In every Congressional District, constituents and health care providers rely on Medicaid coverage to pay for a wide range of care, including reproductive health care. This coverage not only provides preventive care and saves lives, it also allows people to make decisions about how they want to plan for their futures and manage their reproductive health.
Cutting Medicaid programs will have devastating effects on the health of communities, especially communities of color. This includes imposing work reporting requirements that make Americans navigate arduous paperwork as frequently as monthly just to keep their health coverage, onerous eligibility checks, limitations on how states can fund their Medicaid programs, and “defunding” Planned Parenthood health centers, which provide essential health care services for more than 2 million patients per year. Ohio has one of the highest Black maternal and infant mortality rates in the country. Medicaid has been crucial to improving maternal and infant outcomes in Ohio, and the Republican reconciliation bill threatens halting these major strides.