Judge blocks Medicaid funding for Maine abortion centers during lawsuit

An abortion facility network in Maine will not receive Medicaid money during its lawsuit against the government’s funding cuts, a federal judge ruled Monday. Lawmakers in July passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which pulled Medicaid funds from most abortion providers for a year. The Family Planning Association of Maine sued the Trump administration, arguing that some of its facilities would likely close without the money. U.S. District Judge Lance Walker on Monday denied the abortion network’s request for a temporary injunction on the measure.

A judge in July temporarily blocked that defunding measure from applying to Planned Parenthood abortion facilities, but the decision didn’t cover other abortion providers. The government appealed that decision.

What was the judge’s reasoning behind the Monday decision? The Maine abortion network was asking the government to spend dollars contrary to the will of the people, as expressed by Congress, Walker wrote, suggesting that a judge should not declare that the public violated its own interest. The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson opinion concluded that abortion was not a constitutionally protected fundamental right, he wrote. Walker also noted that the abortion network failed to prove its argument that the law arbitrarily singled out some medical providers in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.

How did the abortion network respond? The ruling threatened care for thousands of Maine residents, the network said in a pop-up announcement on its website. It encouraged people to donate to help keep facilities open.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on other abortion facility closures following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.