Judge Blocks Defunding Of Planned Parenthood

(AP) A federal judge says Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding. The judged ruled Monday as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights President Donald Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation. The new order replaces a previous edict that initially granted a preliminary injunction. That injunction specifically blocked the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn’t provide abortion care or didn’t meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year. Although Planned Parenthood is not specifically named in the statute, which went into effect July 4, the organization’s leaders say it was meant to affect their nearly 600 centers in 48 states. However, a major medical provider in Maine and likely others have also been hit.