Judge issues injunction blocking Medicaid cuts to Planned Parenthood in Texas

A federal judge has ruled that Planned Parenthood in Texas may continue to receive Medicaid funding — for now, The New York Times reports.

Here are six things to know.

1. On Tuesday, Sam Sparks, a United States District Court judge in the Western District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction on the issue.

2. Texas has contended Planned Parenthood violated medical or ethical standards related to abortion procedures, according to the report. However, in his ruling, Judge Sparks said Texas did not provide credible evidence to support those claims, the report states.

3. The case stems from a video secretly recorded in April 2015 . The clandestinely recorded video showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue with off-camera abortion opponents posing as representatives of a biomedical company. The video portrayed the conversation as illegal, but Planned Parenthood rebuked the implication and said the video was deceptively edited, The New York Times reports.

4. According to the report, the judge wrote in his ruling: "A secretly recorded video, fake names, a grand jury indictment, congressional investigations — these are the building blocks of a best-selling novel rather than a case concerning the interplay of federal and state authority through the Medicaid program. Yet rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas' efforts to expel a group of healthcare providers from a social healthcare program for families and individuals with limited resources."

5. Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, called the ruling a "victory for Texas women," The New York Times reports. She said in a statement, "We will never back down, and we will never stop fighting for our patients."

6. The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, called the decision "disappointing," and said in a statement on Tuesday he plans to appeal the judge's ruling.

"The raw, unedited footage from undercover videos exposed a brazen willingness by Planned Parenthood officials to traffic in fetal body parts, as well as manipulate the timing and method of an abortion," he added. "Even the remains of the most vicious criminals are treated with respect. But the children who never had a chance at life become so-called medical waste or, alternatively, a commodity to be bartered for. No taxpayer in Texas should have to subsidize this repugnant and illegal conduct. We should never lose sight of the fact that, as long as abortion is legal in the United States, the potential for these types of horrors will continue."

For more on this story, read Christopher Mele's full report here.

 

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

15 things to know about Stark Law
11 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements
Co-founder of Forest Park Medical Center pleads guilty in kickback case

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars