June 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out a lower court ruling that blocked South Carolina from ending public funding to Planned Parenthood, giving the Republican-governed state another chance to defend its bid to deprive the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider of government money. Circuit Court of Appeals had barred South Carolina from terminating funding to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the organization's regional affiliate, under Medicaid, because the organization provides abortions. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates clinics in the South Carolina cities of Charleston and Columbia, where it provides physical exams, cancer and other health screenings, as well as abortions. South Carolina is one of numerous Republican-led states that have moved to ban or restrict abortion since the Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized the procedure nationwide. The law is a revised version of a previous ban that the state's highest court struck down in January.

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Persons: Julie Edwards, Henry McMaster, Edwards, Roe, Wade, Andrew Chung, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Republican, Circuit, Appeals, Atlantic, Medicaid, Federal Nursing Home, Thomson Locations: South Carolina, Indiana, Richmond , Virginia, Charleston, Columbia, South Carolina's, New York, Boston