A federal judge has ruled that the state of Louisiana and Governor Bobby Jindal must continue to fund Planned Parenthood, finding that more than 5,000 low-income patients would have their healthcare adversely impacted if funding was withheld.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued a temporary restraining order late Sunday which requires Louisiana to continue providing Medicaid funding Planned Parenthood clinics for the next two weeks as a legal battle over the payments continues.
Also in his ruling, Judge deGravelles noted that Planned Parenthood and its patients would likely suffer irreparable harm if funding for services such as cancer screenings and other preventative healthcare was suddenly suspended.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who is also busy running a losing campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, recently attempted to strip all of Planned Parenthood’s funding after the release of secretly recorded videos about how the tissue of aborted fetuses is handled by the women’s healthcare provider.
Court records show that Planned Parenthood does not provide abortions in Louisiana. So Jindal’s effort to defund clinics in the state would have targeted the other health services that it provides to low-income patients at clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
After Judge deGravelles’ ruling in the case, Melissa Flournoy, Louisiana state director of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast remarked:
“This ruling is a victory for the more than 5,200 women and men in Louisiana who rely on Planned Parenthood for care through Medicaid. It is shameful that Governor Jindal is trying to score political points by blocking women’s access to critical health care.”
Governor Jindal’s office did not make any comment on the judge’s decision.
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