The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case on whether States have a right to ban taxpayer funding of abortions. If successful, the outcome could result in the defunding of giant abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

The case, Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, came about after the Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services asked the Supreme Court to take the case following a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit that ruled against the state.

South Carolina had determined that Planned Parenthood was not qualified to receive taxpayer funding as part of its Medicaid programme. However, a federal district court intervened and forced the state to restore Planned Parenthood’s funding. 

The effort to defund Planned Parenthood began in earnest in 2015 after undercover videos released by David Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress showed abortion providers bragging about making money from selling the body parts of aborted babies to research companies. The dark and gruesome admissions contained in the videos shocked the world and prompted congressional hearings that discussed withholding taxpayer funds from Planned Parenthood and others.

And as recently pointed out by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel, John Bursch: “Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund facilities that make a profit off abortion.”

Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is specifically focussed on South Carolina’s law banning Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. However, several other states have also banned state taxpayer funds from going to Planned Parenthood. The Court’s decision will not only have major implications for South Carolina but on all states across the U.S.

To learn more about David’s work, see below a recent podcast interview with Live Action‘s founder, Lila Rose.