Judge blocks Alabama from ending Planned Parenthood funding
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama to restore Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, money the state tried to cut off in the wake of undercover videos shot by abortion opponents.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued an order that temporarily bars Alabama from cutting off Medicaid contracts with the group's clinics in Alabama. Planned Parenthood Southeast and a Medicaid recipient filed suit in August, days after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced he was ending the Medicaid agreements with the two clinics.
"Today's ruling is a victory for the women who rely on Planned Parenthood for quality, compassionate affordable health care," said Staci Fox, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeast. "It's outrageous that Governor Bentley is trying to take care away from women and families in our communities who need it the most."
In his 66-page opinion, Thompson said Alabama did not identify a legal reason to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood and that the state's action likely violated a free-choice-of-provider provision of the federal Medicaid Act that limits a state's ability to bar family planning providers for reasons unrelated to quality of care.
Read more: http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2015-10-28/judge-blocks-alabama-ending-planned-parenthood-funding
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