The following statement is from South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain on the Decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the State of South Carolina’s Ban on Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood:
“Today’s ruling is a cruel and calculated attack on health care access in South Carolina. By allowing the State of South Carolina to remove Planned Parenthood as a qualified provider of Medicaid healthcare services, the Supreme Court has decided that partisan politics overrides the health and dignity of thousands of South Carolinians, especially low-income women, young people, and communities of color.
This case was never about fiscal responsibility; it was about targeting a trusted health care provider for purely ideological, partisan reasons. The fact remains: Medicaid funds do not pay for abortion. Medicaid funds support cancer screenings, contraception, STI treatment, and preventative care, services that will now be much more difficult to access for countless people in our state.
Let’s call this what it is: an effort to control people’s bodies, silence their choices, and limit their options. South Carolinians deserve better.
Democrats will continue to fight for reproductive freedom, health equity, and a government that puts people before politics.”