Supreme Court Limits Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood in 6-3 Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant 6-3 ruling limiting the power of lower courts to block President Donald Trump's actions on birthright citizenship, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett authoring the majority opinion sharply criticizing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's dissent as legally unfounded and accusing her of endorsing an 'imperial Judiciary.' In a separate landmark decision, the Court ruled that states can block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood services, with Justice Neil Gorsuch emphasizing that elected representatives, not judges, should make such policy decisions. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson strongly dissented, comparing the ruling to Jim Crow-era discrimination, and argued that the Court was undermining civil rights laws by allowing states to restrict Medicaid recipients' choice of healthcare providers. Jackson's dissent highlighted concerns that the decision jeopardizes access to essential healthcare services beyond abortion, such as contraception and cancer screenings, provided by Planned Parenthood. The decisions reflect a conservative-leaning Court's effort to curtail judicial intervention and empower state-level and executive discretion, drawing sharp ideological divides among the justices. These rulings have major implications for federal judicial authority, civil rights protections, and healthcare funding policies in America.