WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) released the following statement in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision upholding South Carolina’s ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood:

“Trump's extremist Supreme Court has inflicted yet another brutal, ideological attack on the health, freedom, and wellbeing of the American people — deciding once again that politics reigns above the law and a patient’s right to quality care.

“This unfounded decision uses abortion as a pretext to defund and deny cancer screenings, fertility treatments, prenatal services, postpartum care, contraception, and other basic care that Planned Parenthood provides every day. In rural and underserved areas, Planned Parenthood is often the only health care option. This ruling means people will be forced to either delay or forgo care altogether. 

“Even as patients grapple with the consequences of today’s ruling, Republicans are trying to defund these services nationwide with their big, ugly budget bill. It is yet another betrayal by a Republican Party that values its own power more than the health of working families.”