Several key conservatives on the Supreme Court left open the possibility on Wednesday that they could side with Planned Parenthood in a dispute with South Carolina over its decision to yank that organization’s Medicaid funding because it provides abortions.

In opposing the case, the state of South Carolina has argued that Edwards didn’t have a right to sue in federal court. The lower courts sided with Edwards and Planned Parenthood—as have most federal circuit courts that have considered similar cases. So South Carolina appealed, all the way up to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday in a case that, at first glance, appears to involve only a technical interpretation of the federal Medicaid Act. But the dispute has drawn wides