If the justices allow the suit to go forward, Edwards and Planned Parenthood can continue to challenge the clinics' exclusion from the state's Medicaid program in a lower court. ????? ???????  

While federal law already prohibits any government funding of abortions, South Carolina contends it has the right to target non-abortion funding to abortion providers. "Because money is fungible, giving Medicaid dollars to abortion facilities frees up their other funds to provide more abortions," the state told the court. ????????????  

"Congress wanted states to have substantial discretion to innovate with their Medicaid programs," the state wrote in its brief to the high court. Allowing individuals to sue over access to specific providers would "subject the state to unanticipated (and expensive) lawsuits." ?????  

The state argues that Congress never intended to give individuals the right to sue over access to a particular provider and that there are plenty of other clinics available to serve Medicaid recipients. ????? ???????  

"[Congress] enacted the free-choice-of-provider provision to ensure that Medicaid patients, like everyone else, can choose their own doctor," they wrote. "Congress specifically enacted this provision in response to some States' efforts to restrict Medicaid patients' choice of provider." ????????????