Planned Parenthood Is Suing Texas

The state is trying to block Medicaid dollars
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 24, 2015 2:21 AM CST
Updated Nov 24, 2015 4:01 AM CST
Planned Parenthood Is Suing Texas
In this July 28, 2015, photo, anti-abortion activists rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin to condemn the use in medical research of tissue samples obtained from aborted fetuses.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Planned Parenthood sued again Monday over efforts by Republican governors to block Medicaid funding to the nation's largest abortion provider, this time against Texas, where the organization says health care access to 13,500 women is on the line. Federal courts have so far halted similar attempts in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Alabama while lawsuits play out. Texas plans to kick Planned Parenthood out of the state's Medicaid program by Dec. 8. State officials moved in October to block the dollars after accusing Planned Parenthood of scheduling abortions in a way that would best procure fetal tissue for medical research.

The state levied the accusation after anti-abortion activists released undercover video they say shows Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal for-profit sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood has denied both claims. Ten anonymous Planned Parenthood patients, who say they would lose access to their health provider of choice, have also joined the Texas lawsuit. Planned Parenthood says it provides cancer screenings, pregnancy testing, and other physical exams at 17 centers that would be impacted by the loss of Medicaid dollars. A spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declined comment, saying the state had not yet been served the lawsuit. (More Planned Parenthood stories.)

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