Day Cited by Guttmacher Institute in Federal Reproductive Health Injunction

06.08.26 — As the federal government moved to cut off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding, Professor Sarah Lee Day’s research was part of the evidentiary foundation used to stop it. An article Day co-authored was cited by the Guttmacher Institute in a declaration supporting plaintiff states’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in State of California v. US Department of Health and Human Services in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The case challenged Section 71113 of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would have stripped Planned Parenthood of Medicaid reimbursement for one year — cutting off reproductive healthcare for millions of patients. The court granted a preliminary injunction on behalf of the plaintiff states, though it has since been stayed and the plaintiffs have moved to dismiss without prejudice.

The Guttmacher citation appeared in a declaration by Megan L. Kavanaugh, principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, whose research portfolio focuses on contraceptive access and service delivery, supporting the motion, and drew on Day’s 2023 Health Affairs Forefront piece, “Twelve-Month Contraception Dispensing Advances Access and Equity,” co-authored with Neena Qasba and Sarah Goff.

“When we fund reproductive health organizations, we’re funding people’s ability to decide the shape of their own lives. Access to contraception is one of the most powerful tools we have for advancing equality, economic security and public health,” said Day. “States should use all tools at their disposal to expand access to contraception and protect reproductive healthcare from federal attacks.”