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 question for the justices was whether Medicaid beneficiaries may sue to receive services under a law that lets them choose any qualified provider.

The dispute arose from a long-running effort by the state to block the reproductive health care group from receiving Medicaid funds.