Overview

• U.S. District Judge Lance Walker denied Maine Family Planning’s bid for a preliminary injunction, so Medicaid reimbursements will not resume while its case proceeds.
• The nonprofit operates 18 clinics that serve roughly 8,000 low-income patients and warns it may halt primary care by the end of October, with potential clinic closures.
• Walker wrote that Congress can withhold federal funds from conduct not protected as a constitutional right, echoing the administration’s argument about disassociating from abortion providers.
• The ruling contrasts with a separate federal order last month requiring Planned Parenthood affiliates to continue receiving Medicaid reimbursements during their legal challenge.
• Enacted in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the one-year ban targets providers primarily engaged in family planning that received more than $800,000 in Medicaid in 2023; Maine Family Planning says Medicaid does not fund its abortions and argues the threshold was calibrated to sweep in smaller providers.