Reform Jewish Leaders Condemn Supreme Court Decision Blocking Medicaid Recipients from Accessing Planned Parenthood

WASHINGTON — In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch, Chief Executive Officer of Women of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, released the following statement:

Rabbi Liz P.G. Hirsch:

"We condemn the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Medicaid Act’s free-choice-of-provider provision, which establishes the right of Medicaid patients to access services at any qualified provider – including Planned Parenthood – and protects their ability to sue to enforce this right. In doing so, the Supreme Court has violated decades of precedent and eliminated the ability of South Carolina Medicaid recipients to fight back in court against the South Carolina policy excluding Planned Parenthood South Atlantic from the state’s Medicaid program.  

"With more than one million low-income South Carolina residents enrolled in Medicaid as of June 2024, this decision threatens the ability of South Carolinians to access contraception, STI testing, cancer screening, and other essential health services. Since our founding in 1913, Women of Reform Judaism has been advocating for bodily autonomy and human dignity for all. Denying over one million people access to necessary medical services strips them of this fundamental right.    

"This decision not only dangerously opens the door for other states to exclude Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health centers from state Medicaid programs but also establishes a dangerous precedent to deny care on ambiguous grounds."

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner:

"Judaism is clear about our responsibility to ensure all people have access to health care. Maimonides, a revered Jewish scholar, teaches that ‘it is obligatory from the Torah for the physician to heal the sick’ (commentary on Mishnah Nedarim 4:4). Providing health care is not just an obligation of the doctor, but also of society. Maimonides listed health care first on his list of the ten most important communal services a city must offer its residents if the city is to be found worthy for a great scholar to live there (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot IV:23). By eliminating the right of Medicaid recipients to choose their preferred, trusted provider, the Supreme Court has made it harder for already vulnerable people to access lifesaving health care.  

"This decision is also part of a broader attack on Planned Parenthood and reproductive health care. As we oppose this decision, we also remain committed to fighting for Planned Parenthood and other abortion-providing clinics to remain open and included in state Medicaid programs. As Congress considers the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act,’ we urge elected officials to oppose Medicaid funding cuts, Medicaid work requirements and eligibility restrictions, and other restrictions on reproductive health care. We will continue to mobilize Jewish communities across the country to protect everyone’s right to quality, affordable, and accessible health care."