The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s injunction against Louisiana’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. A three-judge appellate panel said the health services provider likely would prevail at trial because plaintiffs would be denied both access to and choice of a medical provider, the Associated Press reported.
The bid to withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood was launched under then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, and continued under the new governor, John Bel Edwards, an anti-abortion Democrat. The effort came on the heels of the release of controversial videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing the provision of fetal tissue for research purposes.
Planned Parenthood told the AP that defunding efforts were undertaken in 24 states.
The Planned Parenthood clinics offer physical exams, contraception, screenings for breast and cervical cancers, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and other services; these have been targeted in the defunding efforts. Planned Parenthood facilities also provide abortions, but do not uses federal funding for those services. No federal funds are permitted for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is at risk.
“Because the individual plaintiffs would otherwise be denied both access to a much needed medical provider and the legal right to the qualified provider of their choice, we agree that they will almost certainly suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction,” Judge Jacques Wiener wrote (PDF), joined by Judges Priscilla Owens and Edward Prado.
In July, the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s order to defund Planned Parenthood violated Planned Parenthood’s First Amendment right to free speech and to provide non-federally funded abortions.
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