City of New York Takes Action To Protect Federal Funding For Planned Parenthood

October 15, 2025

City of New York Takes Action To Protect Federal Funding For Planned Parenthood

President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" Defunds Planned Parenthood

Federal Funding Actions Will Prevent Approximately 1 Million Patients from Using Medicaid at Clinics Nationwide

The City of New York today - as part of a coalition of 22 cities and counties from across the country - has filed an amicus brief to protect federal funding for Planned Parenthood and their affiliated health centers , which provide critical reproductive health care services such as pregnancy tests, educational programs, elective abortions, cancer screenings, and HIV treatment. The coalition strongly supports plaintiffs in Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. et al. v. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. et al. who claim they are unlawfully targeted by the "Defund Provision" (Section 71113) of the federal Reconciliation Actenacted over the summer. The act, also known as "One Big Beautiful Bill," imposes a one-year ban on Medicaid payments to health care centers that offer abortions and received more than $800,000 in federal funding in 2023 - criteria almost exclusive to Planned Parenthood.

"Reproductive health care is health care, and our administration will always fight to protect New Yorkers access to the care they need," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "Planned Parenthood clinics offer vital health care to our communities, and cutting off critical funding only hurts the thousands of low-income New Yorkers, and the nearly 1 million more across the nation, who rely on these clinics. Additionally, by restricting funding to local providers, the federal Reconciliation Act will put a strain on our local budget and negatively impact our economy. This does not make New Yorkers safe but does just the opposite. We must do what is right in ensuring that abortion, and all women's health services, are protected and safe."

"The Trump administration has launched yet another assault on public health that will undermine the wellbeing of communities throughout the nation," said New York City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. "If the federal government is allowed to unlawfully defund Planned Parenthood, people in need of essential health care will be turned away, diseases will go untreated, and cancers will go undetected. This brief details the profoundly harmful impact this would have on individuals, local governments, and economies."

In July 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from applying the Defund Provision against any affiliate of Planned Parenthood. The court held that the provision likely violates the U.S. Constitution's "bill of attainder clause," which prohibits Congress and state legislatures from imposing punishments on individuals or entities without trial. In August 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit granted the Trump administration's motion to stay the injunction pending the outcome of the federal government's appeal.

In the brief - led by the Public Rights Project - the coalition argues that cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood threatens to undermine public health among substantial portions of the coalition's residents, as more than half of Planned Parenthood's patients rely on Medicaid, totaling approximately 1 million beneficiaries nationwide. The brief contends that the cuts will strain local health care systems, which often provide services of last resort when private clinics like Planned Parenthood are at capacity but are not currently equipped to absorb a large influx of patients if these clinics were to close.

The coalition also asserts that cuts to Planned Parenthood will strain local economies. Without Planned Parenthood's services, local governments may need to divert additional funds to reproductive health services, putting pressure on local budgets. Further, poor health outcomes and reductions in educational services related to pregnancy can decrease participation in the labor force among greater populations. Additionally, Planned Parenthood itself employs hundreds of workers nationwide, many of whom may face layoffs.

The risks to public health and local health care systems extend to the City of New York as well. Planned Parenthood serves close to 8,000 New York City residents every year, and even before these funding cuts, it reported to the City Council that its operations face significant underfunding due to prior Medicaid reductions. Moreover, other reproductive clinics in the city have recently been forced to pare back their operations, with one longstanding clinic recently closing two locationsin Brooklyn.

Joining the City of New York and the Public Rights Project were the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, and San José, California; Evanston, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Hoboken, New Jersey; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rochester, New York; Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; Bellingham, Washington; and Madison, Wisconsin; as well as the counties of Alameda, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, California; Montgomery, Maryland; Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Harris, Texas; and Dane, Wisconsin.