U.S. Sen. Patty Murray introduced a bill Tuesday, July 29, to restore federal funding to Planned Parenthood after the Big Beautiful Bill Act threatened to ban its Medicaid reimbursements for one year.
“In many communities, Planned Parenthood is the only place women can go to get basic preventive care, no matter their income,” Murray, a Democrat, said in a news release.
She was joined by lawmakers from Minnesota, California, Georgia and New Hampshire in introducing the Restoring Essential Healthcare Act, which would reverse the Republican-backed provision cutting Planned Parenthood and other women’s health clinics off from federal Medicaid funding. Murray is Washington state's senior senator.
Planned Parenthood provides sexual and reproductive health care and education, including STI testing, breast exams, birth control and HPV vaccines.
According to the release, the ban puts almost 200 Planned Parenthood clinics at risk of closure, leaving thousands of patients in every state without access to essential reproductive care.
On Monday, July 28, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled that Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed through Medicaid while the organization challenges the Trump administration in court, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier this month, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the cuts, claiming they would harm vulnerable patients who already have limited health care options.
At a news conference Wednesday, July 9, Gov. Bob Ferguson said that if the cuts stand, Washington state will backfill $11 million — the portion of Planned Parenthood’s $22 million annual budget that comes from the federal government.
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