AG Nessel Secures Preliminary Injunction Blocking Trump Administration from Defunding Planned Parenthood and Other Health Centers

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has secured a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts blocking the Trump Administration from enforcing the “Defund Provision” within the recently enacted federal budget bill (PDF). The Defund Provision would exclude certain health centers, including Planned Parenthood health centers, from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements. Among other things, these centers provide essential healthcare services, including cancer screenings, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and birth control, to low-income patients.  

"Unlawfully defunding the health clinics that Michiganders rely on – especially those living in Northern Michigan’s healthcare deserts – would have left residents without access to essential care,” Nessel said. “I am relieved that the Court saw the Trump Administration’s effort for what it was: another illegal political tactic aimed at undermining the healthcare people need. I will continue to fight back against such actions that harm our state.” 

On July 29, Attorney General Nessel joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania in filing a lawsuit over the Defund Provision. On September 24, the coalition filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. In its recent decision on that motion, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts wrote that:  

• The States are likely to succeed on the merits. The Court held that the Defund Provision likely fails to provide clear notice of the full scope of providers that qualify as “prohibited entities,” as required by the Spending Clause of the U.S Constitution. In addition, the Court held that the Defund Provision likely acts as an unlawful retroactive condition because it constitutes a change that the States could not have anticipated when joining Medicaid.  
• The Defund Provision would result in irreparable harm to the States if allowed to stay in effect.  
• The balance of equities and the public interest weighs in favor of the States. 

On September 11, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in related lawsuit Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Kennedy, granted the Trump Administration’s request to stay a different district court order that prevented the Defund Provision from taking effect.  The First Circuit’s order allows the Defund Provision to take effect while the appeal in that case proceeds.