Power

Federal Appeals Court Rules Indiana Can’t Eliminate Funding for Planned Parenthood

With two federal appellate courts split on the issue of indirect funding bans, will the Roberts Court be the final word?

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The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the core portion of a preliminary injunction and ruled that Indiana cannot cut off funding for Planned Parenthood or any qualified health care provider because the organization provides abortions.

The law, HEA 120 bars abortion providers from receiving Medicaid funds for any medical services. and was the first in a series of state attempts to de-fund Planned Parenthood. “This law was an attempt by politicians to punish organizations that are providing legal services,” said Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project in a statement. “Elected officials should not place politics above women’s health.”

It’s the second victory for women in less than a week. On Friday a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking similar attempts by Arizona to de-fund Planned Parenthood. In August the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Texas’ funding ban. With the Seventh Circuit and the Fifth Circuit split on the constitutionality of these “indirect funding” bans, the Supreme Court could be asked to settle the matter.