Responding Friday to a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, a state judge in Austin ordered Texas to temporarily halt efforts to exclude the organization from the Women’s Health Program — the latest step in long-running legal and political battle over the health initiative’s future.
District Judge Amy Clark Meachum issued the restraining order after a brief afternoon hearing and set aside three hours for a Nov. 8 hearing on whether to continue the ban.
The lawsuit, filed in state court one day after Planned Parenthood lost a federal court challenge, argued that Texas health officials adopted an invalid rule when they moved to exclude Planned Parenthood — and any other provider that supports abortion or is affiliated with an organization that performs abortions — from the program, which provides contraceptives and other care to low-income women.
“The rules that the state has adopted pose a substantial risk that thousands of Texas women will lose the health care that they currently receive,” said Susan Conway, an Austin lawyer representing Planned Parenthood. “We’re optimistic that we’re right on the law.”
More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/judge-state-cannot-cut-planned-parenthood-from-hea/nSppQ/
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