(Reuters) -Planned Parenthood sued the Trump administration on Monday over a provision in President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill that would strip funding from health centers operated by the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider.
In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Planned Parenthood said the provision is unconstitutional, and its clear purpose is to prevent its nearly 600 health centers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.
Planned Parenthood said that would have “catastrophic consequences,” given that the health centers serve more than 1 million patients annually through Medicaid.
“The true design of the Defund Provision is simply to express disapproval of, attack, and punish Planned Parenthood, which plays a particularly prominent role in the public debate over abortion,” Planned Parenthood said.
Medicaid is overseen by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Chizu Nomiyama )
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