The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided Arkansas is within its rights not to provide Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, reports Politico.
The Wednesday ruling involves undercover videos of Planned Parenthood made by anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress in July 2015, which alleged Planned Parenthood was illegally selling fetal tissue. After the videos were released, Arkansas ended its Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood did not challenge the decision in court, according to the ruling. The decision was, however, challenged by three Arkansas patients, who sued the director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
Reuters reports Wednesday's 2-1 ruling "vacates preliminary injunctions from a federal judge that required the state to continue Medicaid payments" after the patients' legal challenges. According to the report, the court ultimately found the patients are not within their rights to challenge Arkansas' decision to end its Medicaid provider agreements with Planned Parenthood.
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