BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – In a new appellate court ruling, a panel of judges say the State of Louisiana must allow Medicaid funds to be used for non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood clinics.
Former Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) pushed the issue on his way out of office, where taxpayer funds via Medicaid would not be allowed to be used at Planned Parenthood clinics, even for services not pertaining to abortion.
The three-judge panel, though, said the state must allow for Medicaid to be used at Planned Parenthood and cannot block the funds, according to the Associated Press.
Louisiana Right to Life spokeswoman Deanna Wallace told Breitbart Texas that the pro-life movement in the state was “disappointed” with the ruling, considering the progress the organization has made on abortion issues.
“We’re disappointed that federal judges are trying to interfere with the state,” Wallace said. “Louisiana should be able to say that Planned Parenthood is not someone we want to do business with.”
Wallace said the ruling, on the other hand, does not impact new regulations on abortion clinics passed months ago by the Louisiana legislature and signed off on by Gov. John Bel Edwards (D).
Those new regulations include prohibiting federal funds from Louisiana entities that conduct or are assistants to abortions, so long as the federal dollars are left in the hands of the state, according to Wallace.
Jindal’s effort to cut off all Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood came after video footage showed the abortion giant’s top executives talking about selling the body parts of unborn children, as Breitbart News reported at the time.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) CEO Melaney Linton is caught in the video footage talking about “compensation” for fetal tissue that was removed during an abortion procedure.
PPGC immediately jumped on Jindal’s move to cut off funds, taking the state to court by saying the halt of Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood clinics was “political motivated,” according to the AP.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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