Judge orders state not to block Planned Parenthood funding

A judge is ordering the state of Utah not to stop funding its Planned Parenthood branch over advocacy for legal abortion or unproven allegations against the national organization.

Republican Rep. Diane Black, a member of the Select Investigative Panel On Infant Lives, blasted the new rule in a statement Tuesday, calling it a “shady” change that would thwart states’ rights.

Last year, Gov. Gary Herbert ordered Planned Parenthood’s funding blocked after videos were released allegedly showing leaders of the group discussing the selling of fetus body parts for money.

According to the HHS document, studies have also shown that state actions to exclude specific family planning providers causes “reduced use of highly effective methods of contraception and corresponding increases in rates of childbirth among populations that rely on federally supported care”.

Planned Parenthood operates abortion clinics in Milwaukee and Madison.

“Women in almost half the states in the country have faced political attacks on cancer screenings, birth control, and other basic care”, Ms. Richards said in a statement last week.

Once the comment period begins, the agency will consider revisions to the rule for 30 days before issuing final regulations.

Utah Planned Parenthood sued the state after Herbert directed the health department to withhold federal pass-through dollars to the organization previous year.

The Obama administration previously has employed similar reasoning to protect Planned Parenthood from accountability at the local level. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to states in April that providing abortion-on-demand “neither disqualifies a provider from participating in the Medicaid program, nor is the provision of such services inconsistent with the best interests of the beneficiary”.

HHS went on to cite examples of Florida and Texas’ attempts to defund abortion providers.

A federal judge has signed an order preventing the state from stripping funding from the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.