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By Michele Goodwin | The Supreme Court delivered a stinging blow for basic healthcare on Thursday: In a 6-3 decision, along ideological lines, the Court allowed a harmful executive order from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), originally signed in 2018, to stand. The executive order—part of an ongoing attack on reproductive freedom—allowed denying Medicaid funding to providers that deliver abortion services. The EO took aim at the state’s two Planned Parenthood clinics.
Medicaid funding is crucial for low-income Americans—it’s the vital thread that connects them with healthcare in a society where universal healthcare does not exist. It “provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities,” according to its official website.
However, many people are unaware of Medicaid’s origins.
The policy itself was a vital civil rights victory, and closely followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Indeed, it is part of the largely untold story of President Lyndon Johnson and his civil rights New Deal legacy. Authorized in the Social Security Act, Medicaid was signed into law in 1965 by President Johnson.
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