This weekend, Texas had plans to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds in the state. But that plan was blocked late last week by a federal judge, who postponed the ruling on whether the women’s health care provider should be removed from Medicaid coverage.
The funding ouster was initially planned for this past Saturday the 21st. But, as Texas Monthly reports, a federal court now says Planned Parenthood can continue to receive funding until Feb. 21st, while the court deliberates further.
Republican lawmakers have vowed to shut down any government funding for Planned Parenthood, citing secretly recorded videos purportedly showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetal parts. The funding cuts are still being pushed despite the fact that Planned Parenthood was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Harris County grand jury last year.
In court last week, Federal Judge Sam Sparks called Texas’s fixation with the videos “baloney.”
Planned Parenthood insists that removing the group from Medicaid would have “devastating consequences” on poor Texas women who rely on the clinics for healthcare. At Planned Parenthood and other women's clinics, no federal or state money goes toward abortion services, but is instead used for traditional healthcare.
