government
Hearing set for Texas Planned Parenthood lawsuit
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 11, 2012
A federal appeals court will hear arguments in October on whether Texas can defund Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.
Texas in 2011 enacted a law, set to be enforced May 1, barring Planned Parenthood from participating in a state-funded assistance program because some of the organization’s centers provide abortions. Planned Parenthood sued over the rule, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the program would lose its federal funding because the measure violated federal law.
A federal appeals court granted an injunction blocking the law in early May.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel is set to hear oral arguments on Oct. 19. Legal experts said the schedule means it’s unlikely the court will make a decision by Nov. 1, when federal funding is scheduled to end for the $33-million-a-year women’s health program. In the meantime, Texas plans to continue using state money to fund the health program.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/06/11/gvbf0611.htm.
