INDIANAPOLIS —President Barack Obama's administration is stepping further into the debate over whether Indiana can block $1.4 million in Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood's 28 clinics in the state.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a 23-page brief late Thursday on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana's efforts to block the state law with U.S. District Judge Tonya Walton Pratt, who is considering the case.
It could represent a boost for Planned Parenthood's quest for a preliminary injunction to stop the state from enforcing a law that would force 9,300 Medicaid patients, including 400 in Evansville, to find new sources of reproductive care.
Now, Pratt has given the state of Indiana a week to file a rebuttal before she makes a decision she has said would come by July 1.
The Justice Department's brief reiterated a point that Donald Berwick, Obama's Medicaid administrator, made recently in a letter directed to Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration.
That is, under federal Medicaid law, Indiana cannot amend its Medicaid plans to delete Planned Parenthood from the list of qualified providers. The state has 60 days from that June 1 letter to appeal, and intends to do so.
Kate Shepherd, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said the Justice Department's brief was "completely unexpected," but welcome.
"We were very pleased, obviously, with the content of the brief, and it does give us hope for the future," she said.
Originally, Planned Parenthood of Indiana had said it would have to shutter seven of its clinics June 20 if the judge does not grant a preliminary injunction.
Shepherd said it's not yet clear whether that would still happen.
"One thing is clear, and that is that we will have to stop seeing Medicaid patients around the state on Tuesday. We have enough donations to get us through the end of business on Monday and pay for our existing Medicaid patients' care," she said.
"We're going to take the weekend and re-evaluate where we are, and then we're going to have to make some decisions on Monday."
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has said the state would appeal the Obama administration's ruling and called Thursday's filing by the Justice Department "inappropriate."
"The federal government's surprise filing (Thursday) seems inappropriate as they should be heard in the administrative process and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that they have established for this purpose," Zoeller said in a statement Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.