Planned Parenthood of Indiana, Inc. v. Commissioner of the Indiana State Dept. of Health

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting plaintiffs-Planned Parenthood and others’ request for issuance of preliminary injunction seeking to block enforcement of Indiana statute that prohibits abortion providers from receiving any state-administered funds, regardless of whether said funds were earmarked for other services. Indiana statute violated Medicaid Act’s “free choice of provider” provision, which requires state Medicaid plans to allow patients to choose their own qualified medical provider, since Indiana does not have plenary authority to exclude class of providers for reason unrelated to fitness to provide medical services. Dist. Ct. erred, though, in finding that plaintiffs could prevail on similar challenge to Indiana statute based on allegation that said statute was preempted by federal block-grant statute for programs related to sexually transmitted diseases under 42 USC section 247c(c). Ct. further rejected plaintiffs’ claim that said statute placed unconstitutional condition on plaintiffs’ receipt of state-administered funds where plaintiffs must choose between providing abortion services or receiving public money. (Partial dissent filed.)