By Steve Olafson
OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec 24 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday
rejected Planned Parenthood's bid to stop Oklahoma from ending
its contract with the women's health organization to provide
food vouchers and counseling to poor mothers in the Tulsa area.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot of the Western District of
Oklahoma ruled that Planned Parenthood failed to prove its
contract with the state's department of health was terminated
for political reasons related to the group's support of abortion
rights. The state contract ends on Jan. 1.
The judge said Planned Parenthood's performance shortfalls -
mostly drops in caseload - did not themselves seem to be
problems that could lead to a cut in ties.
"But a routine, solvable problem can become a justifiable
basis for strong action when it is compounded by persistent
unresponsiveness in addressing the challenge," Friot wrote in
his decision.
Losing the contract will force Planned Parenthood to close
one of its three clinics in Tulsa, according to Penny Dickey,
the organization's chief operating officer.
State officials have said other clinics can absorb the
Planned Parenthood caseload in the Tulsa area when the contract
ends.
Planned Parenthood does not perform abortions in Oklahoma,
but it does refer women to clinics where abortions are carried
out. It also dispenses the so-called "morning after" pill, which
abortion opponents decry as abortion-inducing drugs.
State health officials have said politics played no part in
ending an 18-year relationship with Planned Parenthood to help
provide services under the federal Women, Infant and Children's
(WIC) program. It provides prenatal and postnatal counseling for
mothers and food vouchers for children aged 5 and younger.
State officials say half the newborns in Oklahoma are
enrolled in the WIC program.
At a preliminary injunction hearing last week, Oklahoma
Health Commissioner Terry Cline, a defendant in the lawsuit,
denied the move was made due to political pressure from
anti-abortion forces in the state legislature. A bill there
formally to prohibit the state from contracting with Planned
Parenthood failed.
Cline and others cited poor performance by the Planned
Parenthood clinics as the only reason for cutting ties with the
group.
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