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A three-judge panel of 5th US
Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an order issued earlier in the week by a
judge of the same court that would have allowed Texas to cut off funding for
Planned Parenthood. The panel ruled that the organization must be allowed to
participate in the Texas Women’s Health Program (TWHP) while the case proceeds.
Planned Parenthood provides cancer
screenings and contraception services for 40 percent of TWHP’s 130,000 poor and
uninsured participants. None of the nine Planned Parenthood clinics in TWHP
perform abortions, although separate affiliates do so with private funds. State
and federal law bars public money from being spent on abortions.
The state says it can legally tailor
its health programs to meet the values and needs of its citizens by excluding
health centers that are affiliated with abortion providers. Planned Parenthood
clinics argue that doing so would be unconstitutional since they have a right
to associate with legally operating affiliates.
On May 4, a federal judge ordered
Texas to continue to allow Planned Parenthood to take part in TWHP. The state
appealed, resulting in an emergency order from a 5th US Circuit Court of
Appeals judge. Friday’s decision reversed that order.
The appeals court is expediting its
consideration of whether the injunction against the state should stand while
the case moves forward.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
