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August 22, 2012

Court Rules Texas Can Cut Off Planned Parenthood Funding 
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A federal appeals court has upheld Texas' effort to defund Planned
Parenthood and exclude it from a government-funded health program for
low-income women simply because they also provide abortions. The
decision on Tuesday reverses a lower court ruling that temporarily
blocked the ban. The Texas program offers cancer and health screenings
as well as birth control services to some 130,000 low-income women,
about 40 percent of whom are served through Planned Parenthood. In a
court filing defending the ban earlier this year, Texas Attorney General
Greg Abbott had compared Planned Parenthood to a terrorist organization,
writing: "[The] First Amendment does not prohibit application of federal
material-support statute to individuals who give money to 'humanitarian'
activities performed by terrorist organizations." In a statement,
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said: "[This case] has
never been about Planned Parenthood — it's about the women who
rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, birth control and
well-woman exams. It is shocking that politics would get in the way of
women receiving access to basic healthcare."