The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Thursday for South Carolina to strip Planned Parenthood of funding under the Medicaid health insurance program in a ruling that bolsters efforts by Republican-led states to deprive the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider of public money.

The Supreme Court upheld South Carolina's bid to defund Planned Parenthood, ruling that Medicaid patients cannot sue to choose their provider. The court held in a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, with the conservative justices in the majority.