The Big Beautiful Bill, passed in July 2025, barred organizations that provide elective abortions from receiving Medicaid funds. Planned Parenthood challenged this provision and persuaded a district court to block its enforcement. The Trump administration appealed this ruling and Landmark supported their efforts with an amicus brief in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 3-0 decision, the First Circuit agreed with us and vacated the lower court’s ruling.
District Court injunction:
Planned Parenthood filed suit in Massachusetts, claiming that the defunding provision amounted to an unlawful bill of attainder and violated their First Amendment right to associate. Like other progressive groups challenging Trump administration policy, they carefully selected a venue dominated by Democratic-appointed judges.
Initially, the suit was successful, as the District Court judge issued a preliminary ruling in their favor and ordered the government to restore funding.
This ruling would have set a dangerous precedent, in which any party who had once received federal funding could sue to maintain that funding in perpetuity.
Bill of Attainder:
A Bill of Attainder was a technique used by the British Parliament to impose criminal penalties via legislation. Such bills are prohibited by the Constitution. To be a bill of attainder, a law must single out identifiable parties and impose punishment for past conduct. For example, in United States v. Lovett, the Supreme Court held that Congress enacted an unconstitutional bill of attainder when it passed a statute cancelling the salaries of three named federal employees based on alleged disloyalty to the United States.
Planned Parenthood’s claims fail to satisfy either of these conditions. The bill did not specifically single out Planned Parenthood. Additionally, it did not punish past actions, rather it set conditions for future funding.
Appeal and reversal:
The Trump administration challenged the district court’s ruling and Landmark filed a brief in support. We pointed out several flaws in the original ruling, including the fact that the bill did not impose fines or penalties for past conduct. Additionally, Planned Parenthood could have chosen to stop providing abortions, in which case they would have remained eligible for funding.
The First Circuit’s unanimous ruling reflects the strength of our position, as all three of the Biden-appointed judges ruled in favor of the Trump Administration. The Appeals Court affirmed Congress’ preeminent role in determining funding and corrected a clear misreading of precedent on bill of attainder questions.