A federal appeals court just delivered a major setback to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, dismissing the abortion giant’s attempt to escape liability in a long-running Medicaid fraud case that could ultimately force it to repay nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funds.
On Wednesday, the full (en banc) U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed Planned Parenthood’s interlocutory appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
The ruling returns the high-stakes False Claims Act lawsuit to the federal district court in the Northern District of Texas, where Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk previously rejected Planned Parenthood’s bid for immunity.
The case, United States ex rel. Alex Doe v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, stems from the explosive 2015 undercover videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress.
Those videos captured Planned Parenthood officials discussing the harvesting and potential sale of aborted baby body parts.
In the undercover video, Dr. Ann Schutt-Ainé, Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, and Tram Nguyen, RN and Vice President of Abortion Access at Planned Parenthood Houston, are seen discussing the gruesome details of their procedures.
In one particularly harrowing exchange, Schutt-Ainé said, “You told me about the proposition, and so now every time I do a D&E [dilation and evacuation abortion], I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s some lungs, there’s some kidneys.’”
The footage also captures Nguyen laughing as she recalls a particularly gruesome instance where a fetus was dismembered during an abortion. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I have like a leg for you!’ I’m like, oh sh**, if other people were to hear me, they’d be like, you are f***ing evil,” said Nguyen.
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In response, Texas and Louisiana terminated the Medicaid eligibility of three Planned Parenthood affiliates.
Despite the terminations, Planned Parenthood continued billing Medicaid for services while fighting the states in court under temporary injunctions.
After the Fifth Circuit ultimately sided with the states and allowed the terminations to take effect, a whistleblower known as “Alex Doe” (widely understood to be connected to the original undercover investigation) filed a qui tam lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act and corresponding state laws.
The suit alleges Planned Parenthood and its affiliates knowingly submitted false claims and failed to return millions in improperly collected Medicaid reimbursements.
Under the False Claims Act’s treble damages and per-claim penalties, the potential judgment has been estimated at approximately $1.8 billion to nearly $2 billion.
A three-judge panel had earlier sided with Planned Parenthood, holding that the organization was entitled to attorney immunity for advice given by its lawyers.
The full Fifth Circuit granted rehearing and has now wiped that panel decision away by dismissing the appeal.
The court held it lacked jurisdiction under the collateral-order doctrine because the claimed immunity would not shield Planned Parenthood from the entire lawsuit or prevent it from standing trial on key claims.
The case now heads back to Judge Kacsmaryk’s courtroom for further proceedings. If the whistleblower and the states ultimately prevail, Planned Parenthood could be ordered to repay the government for years of continued billing after states had already moved to cut it off from Medicaid.
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