By David Schwartz
PHOENIX, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge has overturned
an Arizona law that sought to block funding through the state
for Planned Parenthood's healthcare clinics because the group
also performs abortions.
U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake ruled that the
controversial measure signed into law last May by Arizona
Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, unlawfully robs individuals
on Medicaid of the ability to choose healthcare services.
"The Arizona Act violates the freedom of choice provision of
the Medicaid Act precisely because every Medicaid beneficiary
has the right to select any qualified health care provider,"
Wake ruled in a decision released on Friday.
Wake had put the Arizona law on a temporary hold in October
following a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, blocking the state
from cutting off Medicaid funding for family planning and health
services by the organization and other groups performing
abortions.
Medicaid, a joint program between states and the federal
government, provides healthcare coverage for low-income
individuals.
The effort to defund Planned Parenthood in Arizona was part
of an orchestrated move nationwide by conservatives who oppose
abortion.
There was no immediate comment from the governor or the
state attorney general's office late on Monday.
Arizona does not provide tax dollars for abortion, but
backers said the law was needed to make sure that no indirect
money was funneled to organizations like Planned Parenthood that
provide abortion and other health services.
Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative Center for
Arizona Policy, said the ruling was "disheartening" and the
group was weighing its options.
"Though we are disappointed, we are not defeated as this
fight is far from over," Herrod said in a statement, declining
to be more specific about the center's plans.
Bryan Howard, president and chief executive of Planned
Parenthood Arizona, called the judge's decision "a victory for
all Arizonans" and vital for those women who count on the
organization's healthcare services.
"Politics should never interfere with a woman's breast exam
or birth control," Howard said in a statement. "It is wrong for
the state to tell Arizonans who can be their health care
provider ... Our health centers are open today and they will be
open tomorrow."
Planned Parenthood officials said the organization provides
thousands of women in the state with healthcare services. Only 3
percent of those services are abortions.
Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have taken steps to
cut off funding for Planned Parenthood in the last few years,
prompting several lawsuits.
Planned Parenthood is the country's largest provider of
abortions, conducting about one-fourth of those procedures
performed in the United States. In 2011, Republicans
unsuccessfully tried to end federal funding for the group.
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