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http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/...nnedparenthood/

INDIANAPOLIS — If a federal judge does not block a new Indiana law that would stop Medicaid dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, the agency's attorney said it will have to close a fourth of its clinics in the state.

That's what Ken Falk, an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is representing Planned Parenthood, told the judge at a hearing Monday morning.

Falk was on one side and Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher, defending the state law, was on the other as they sparred for nearly two hours before U.S. District Judge Tonya Walton Pratt.

Planned Parenthood wants a preliminary injunction to stop the state from enforcing the law. Indiana officials say the state is within its rights to keep the law on the books until the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says otherwise.

No resolution came Monday, and Pratt asked each side for follow-up briefings. She said she will rule by the end of June, and offered a nod toward Planned Parenthood of Indiana's self-set June 20 date to close seven of its 28 clinics if it is not successful.

The court battle comes on the heels of a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which warned that Indiana's new effort is in violation of federal Medicaid law.

Therefore, if Indiana presses forward, the state could jeopardize more than $4 billion in annual federal funds for the low-income health insurance program.

The letter, from Medicaid Administrator Donald Berwick, did not represent a final decision, and it did not lay out the ramifications for failing to follow his advice. Indiana has 60 days to initiate an appeal process.

The letter did, though, provide a backdrop for Monday's court hearing.

The two sides are fighting over a law Gov. Mitch Daniels signed this year.

The law, which is already in effect, blocks Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid dollars for services such as breast cancer screenings, birth control and sexually transmitted disease tests, because the agency also provides abortions.

Sue Swayze, the legislative director for Indiana Right to Life, said it's a necessary step to make sure Planned Parenthood doesn't mix money that pays for abortions with taxpayer dollars that pay for those other services.

She offered a large store up as an analogy for the current situation. "The lights are still on in the tire section or the socks section even though I'm over in the food section," she said.

At Planned Parenthood clinics, she said, "my tax dollars are going into a big pot to run operations. That's distasteful."

A key legal question is whether the state has the authority to pick and choose which health care providers are allowed to treat Medicaid patients and be reimbursed through the program that is funded with a mix of state and federal dollars.

Fisher told Pratt on Monday that the answer is yes ¿ and even if it's not, that decision should come from Health and Human Services, not a court.

Falk, meanwhile, said federal guidelines prevent states from discriminating against health care providers that otherwise meet all requirements to treat Medicaid patients.

Though the debate is evolving along two separate tracks ¿ one in the court, between Planned Parenthood in the state, and one more bureaucratic in nature, between President Barack Obama's administration and Daniels' administration ¿ the federal backing could help Planned Parenthood.

The biggest stick Obama's Health and Human Services department carries is withholding all of Indiana's Medicaid funding ¿ the "nuclear option," as Fisher put it.

"Does that make you nervous?" Pratt asked Fisher.

"Of course it does," he said.

One option, Fisher said, would involve Planned Parenthood breaking itself into two separate legal entities ¿ one for abortions and one for all of its other services ¿ even if those entities remain housed in the same buildings.

Falk, the ACLU lawyer representing Planned Parenthood, said that's unrealistic because the agency would have no guarantee that state lawmakers who oppose abortion would not once again change the rules in the future.

Since Daniels signed the Planned Parenthood defunding measure into law in May, the organization has relied on private donors to keep treating its Medicaid patients. Donations have come from 1,200 individuals in 46 states and on three continents, Cockrum said.

That added up to $116,000, she said. But the money is running out.

On June 20, Planned Parenthood of Indiana intends to close seven of its 28 clinics in the state.

The Evansville clinic, which treats about 400 Medicaid patients per year, would remain open. But Planned Parenthood would close clinics in New Albany, Terre Haute, Bedford, Hammond, Michigan City and two in Indianapolis. That, according to Betty Cockrum, the agency's president, would displace 20,858 patients.

"Without Medicaid funding the health centers will not be able to cover all the costs associated with their operations," she said.

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http://www.indystar.com/article/20110607/N...dyssey=nav|head

An attorney for the state of Indiana told a judge Monday that Planned Parenthood could still receive taxpayer funds -- even if it continues providing abortions.

Thomas Fisher, the state's solicitor general, said Planned Parenthood would still be eligible for Medicaid funding if it spun off its abortion clinic into a separate corporate entity.

But that option did not appear to sit well with supporters or opponents of Indiana's tough new anti-abortion law -- a law that was pitched as a way to defund abortion providers and is the first in the nation to end Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.

Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the measure into law May 10. That same day, Planned Parenthood asked a federal judge to throw it out on the grounds that it violates federal Medicaid policy against limiting where recipients can receive services.

Planned Parenthood provides a variety of publicly funded health-care services, such as birth control and cancer screenings, in addition to performing abortions that are paid for with donations and patient fees.

On Monday, Judge Tanya Walton Pratt heard arguments on Planned Parenthood's request for a preliminary injunction -- a way, in effect, to put the law on hold until she rules on its merits, which could take months.

During the hearing, Planned Parenthood of Indiana warned it would have to close seven clinics, including two in Indianapolis, if Medicaid funding were cut off.

But an interpretation of Medicaid rules last week by the federal government, as well as testimony in court Monday, suggests it might not come to that.

Medicaid officials informed Indiana by letter Wednesday that cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood would violate federal policy and hinted the state could lose more than $4 billion annually.

"Does that make you nervous?" Pratt asked Fisher in court Monday. She also asked: "Isn't the federal government's interpretation entitled to great deference by this court?"

Fisher said the potential loss of funds is nerve-wracking but that the issue is important to the state. He also pointed out that the federal government could reverse itself and approve Indiana's plan if the state appeals.

During the legislative process, the bill was promoted as a way to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood -- and to ensure that no tax dollars would go to an organization that performs abortions.

But on Monday, Fisher offered a less stringent interpretation.

"In Texas," he told the court, "Planned Parenthood does have separate forms for its abortion and other entities."

Sen. Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis, who authored the defunding measure, said he is not sure how he feels about that interpretation.

"I don't know whether I would or would not feel comfortable with it," said Schneider. "I don't know enough about the details of what happened in Texas, whether it was a superficial change or a more complete change."

At some clinics in Texas, Planned Parenthood said, the change was as small as performing abortions on a different floor than where other services were offered.

But even with that option, Planned Parenthood argues that the Indiana law presents other, constitutional problems.

For example, the measure forces doctors to make certain statements to patients, such as that fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks of pregnancy or earlier -- even if there is no scientific proof or if a doctor does not believe that is so.

Pressed by Pratt, Fisher acknowledged in court he had no evidence fetuses can feel pain at 12 or fewer weeks -- when the vast majority of abortions are performed -- but said, "Who knows where the science will take us?"

He argued that the requirement does not violate free-speech rights because doctors could recite the required statement but then follow up with a statement to the patient such as "now let's talk about your circumstances."

When Pratt asked Fisher about last week's ruling by the federal government, he argued that it is up to the state -- not the federal government -- to determine what service providers qualify for Medicaid reimbursement.

The state is seeking to cut off the about $1.3 million a year that Planned Parenthood of Indiana receives in Medicaid funds.

If Pratt rules against Planned Parenthood, the health-services provider said it would have to close seven of its 28 clinics -- clinics in Bedford, Hammond, Michigan City, New Albany, Terre Haute and the East Side and Midtown clinics in Indianapolis -- displacing more than 20,000 patients.

Medicaid funds are not all that are in jeopardy. The new law also would target $150,000 in sexually transmitted disease prevention grants that go to Planned Parenthood. The organization said if it loses that money, an eighth clinic, in Muncie, also would have to close.

Since Medicaid funds were cut off in May, Planned Parenthood has been scraping together donations to pay for its Medicaid patients, but Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum said the money is running out.

"Pap tests, cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing and treatment -- that's what's at stake here," she said after Monday's hearing. "We're seeking this preliminary injunction on behalf of the thousands of low-income patients who count on us."

Pratt asked both parties to submit over the next 10 days their take on past case law about whether the federal government's interpretation of federal law should take priority over other interpretations. She said she expects to rule on the preliminary injunction by July 1.

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http://www.indystar.com/article/20110620/N...|text|FRONTPAGE

Planned Parenthood plans to stop seeing Medicaid patients, lay off two sexually transmitted disease prevention specialists, and close each of its health centers for one day this week, after the donations it had been using to replace state Medicaid funding run out today.

The health provider said those consequences, announced this morning, could be averted if the federal judge hearing a court challenge to the law suspends enforcement today, but the timetable for the court case means she is unlikely to rule until at least next week.

A tough state anti-abortion law cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood of Indiana went into effect May 10, and since then the health provider has relied on donations to keep its doors open and continue serving its 9,300 Medicaid patients.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana typically receives about $1.3 million a year in Medicaid funds, which is about 10 percent of its total budget. The law would also strip the health provider of roughly $150,000 in sexually transmitted disease prevention funding.

Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, announced the cost-saving measures this morning through a spokeswoman.

“We know this is a personal hardship for our employees and our patients, and we had so hoped to avoid it," she said in a statement. "It is, however, in the best interest of our mission and will allow us to avoid center closures and additional temporary reductions in staff until we get a ruling. We send our apologies to our patients and to our staff."

Backers of the de-funding measure say they do not want their tax dollars going to an organization that funds abortions. No Medicaid dollars actually pay for abortions -- that is prohibited under federal law. Planned Parenthood uses patient fees and private donations to pay for abortions and uses its Medicaid payments to provide services such as birth control, cancer screening and sexually transmitted disease tests.

Scott Schneider, R-Indianapolis, who authored the defunding language, said the health provider does not have to go without funding for those services.

"If (Planned Parenthood) wants to receive taxpayer money, they can simply stop practicing abortion," Schneider said during legislative debate in April. Four of Planned Parenthood's 28 health centers perform abortions. Last year, the health provider performed 5,580 abortions in Indiana.

The health provider said today that it will stop seeing Medicaid patients at close of business, unless they can pay out of pocket for their care. Spokeswoman Kate Shepherd also said that two sexually transmitted disease intervention specialists -- who help treat and prevent STDs -- will be dismissed from the Muncie health center. She also said that all 28 health centers will close for the day Wednesday and withhold one day of pay from their employees, with the exception of the Indianapolis-Georgetown facility, which will do that Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has said she will decide by July 1 whether to suspend enforcement of the de-funding law while she is hearing Planned Parenthood's court challenge. However, she gave the state, which is defending the law, until Friday to file additional documents, meaning she will likely not rule on an injunction before then.
Planned Parenthood's case got a boost last week when the U.S. Department of Justice field a brief siding with the health provider. Pratt gave the state until Friday to file a response to the Justice Department brief.

A total of 85,000 Hoosiers receive services at Planned Parenthood of Indiana's 28 health centers. If the law is allowed to stand, Planned Parenthood will have to close eight centers that serve low-income patients in Gary, East Chicago, Michigan City, Elkhart, Bedford, Seymour, Scottsburg and New Albany.

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WEFM is reporting the Planned Parenthood office in Michigan City is closed today

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http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137414216/ju...arenthood-funds

Judge Halts Ind. Cuts To Planned Parenthood
by The Associated Press

text size A A A June 25, 2011 Planned Parenthood of Indiana expects to start offering services to Medicaid patients again Saturday after a federal judge ruled the state is not allowed to cut off the organization's public funding for general health services solely because it also provides abortions.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt's ruling Friday blocked parts of a tough new abortion law and granted Planned Parenthood of Indiana's request for an injunction on the state's move to defund the organization. The decision sides with federal officials who said states cannot restrict Medicaid recipients' freedom to choose their health care provider or disqualify Medicaid providers merely because they also offer abortions.

Indiana attorney general's office spokesman Bryan Corbin said the state likely will appeal.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana has been without Medicaid funding since May 10, when Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the law that cut off about $1.4 million and made Indiana the first state to deny the organization Medicaid funds for services such as breast exams and Pap tests.

Planned Parenthood, which serves about 9,300 Indiana clients on the state-federal health insurance plan for low-income and disabled people who receive Medicaid, was forced to stop seeing Medicaid patients this week after private donations that had paid those patients' bills ran out.

Planned Parenthood officials said Friday night they anticipate being able to offer services to Medicaid patients again beginning Saturday, and will file for reimbursement as they did before the law took effect.

"This decision will have immediate, positive consequences for our patients and our organization, the state's largest reproductive health care provider," said Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum.

The state had argued that federal law forbids Medicaid from covering abortions in most circumstances and that the program indirectly funds the procedures because Planned Parenthood's financial statements show it commingles Medicaid funds with other revenues. The state has argued Medicaid might subsidize some of the overhead costs for space where abortions are performed.

A recent federal Medicaid bulletin said states may not exclude qualified health care providers merely because they also provide abortions. Pratt noted in her ruling that the federal government had threatened to withhold some or all of Indiana's Medicaid funds because of the new law, which could total more than $5 billion annually and affect nearly 1 million residents.

"Thus, denying the injunction could pit the federal government against the State of Indiana in a high-stakes political impasse," the judge wrote in her ruling. "And if dogma trumps pragmatism and neither side budges, Indiana's most vulnerable citizens could end up paying the price as the collateral damage of a partisan battle."

Daniels' office said the governor did not have an immediate statement on ruling.

Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for the state's Family and Social Services Administration, said that while the injunction is in effect, Planned Parenthood will be able to provide services and apply for Medicaid reimbursement as it did previously. He said the agency was unsure if it would push for an appeal of the decision or whether Planned Parenthood would continue to get funding during any appeal period.

"We're still deciding on what our next step will be," Barlow said.

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Kate Shepherd said the organization believes it can continue to get funding under Pratt's ruling even if the state files an appeal because the injunction would stand unless it were overturned by another judge.

Pratt's ruling also addressed other provisions in Indiana's law that require doctors to tell women seeking abortions that a fetus can feel pain at or before 20 weeks gestation and that "human physical life" begins at conception.

The judge found that because Planned Parenthood only provides first-trimester abortions, requiring its doctors to address fetal pain at or before 20 weeks gestation may be "false, misleading and irrelevant." She issued a preliminary injunction on that part of the law as applied to Planned Parenthood only.

However, Pratt denied Planned Parenthood's request to block the measure requiring doctors to tell women seeking abortions that "human physical life begins when a human ovum is fertilized by a human sperm."

"The inclusion of the biology-based word `physical' is significant, narrowing this statement to biological characteristics," she wrote in her ruling. "When the statement is read as a whole, it does not require a physician to address whether the embryo or fetus is a `human life' in the metaphysical sense."

Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter called the judge's overall decision troubling.

"We are deeply disappointed that today's ruling brushes aside the will of the Indiana Legislature," he said. "This ruling opens the pipeline for our tax dollars to flow back into the hands of Indiana's largest abortion provider and denies women seeking abortions the right to know about an unborn child's ability to feel pain."

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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-reg...8b366dc8ec.html

Home / News / State and Regional News / Indiana /
Judge: Medicaid patients allowed to return to Planned Parenthood

By Kathleen Quilligan kathleen.quilligan@nwi.com, (219) 662-5331 | Posted: Saturday, June 25, 2011 12:30 pm | (42) Comments

INDIANAPOLIS | Planned Parenthood of Indiana will be allowed to start seeing Medicaid patients again because of a ruling late Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, the agency's spokeswoman Kate Shepherd said.

Offices that were scheduled to close July 1, such as those in East Chicago and Michigan City, will stay open because of the ruling.

The agency, which provides family planning services to women, faced the loss of Medicaid funding after Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill tightening abortion restrictions in the state. It filed a request for a preliminary injunction shortly after the bill was signed, which Pratt ruled on Friday.

Planned Parenthood hosted a news conference about the ruling Friday night.

"This is a positive step in what likely will be a long legal battle," said Ken Falk, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is representing the agency. "We are encouraged by the judge's ruling, but know our work is not yet done."

The halting of enforcement of the law means the agency will be able to begin seeing again the 9,300 Medicaid patients who had used its services. On Monday, the agency had stopped seeing those patients because donations to fund services for Medicaid patients ran out.

"We will thoroughly review the ruling, but it is likely that the state of Indiana will seek an interlocutory appeal to the U.S. 7th Circuit, the same court that would ultimately review the administrative appeal of Indiana's Medicaid plan in the dispute between the state of Indiana and the federal government," said Bryan Corbin, the spokesman for Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller's office, in an emailed statement.

Before Pratt made the ruling Friday, Zoeller's office filed its response to a brief the federal government filed June 16 in the legal challenge of the new law. The brief states Indiana can withhold Medicaid funding from abortion providers so abortions are not indirectly subsidized, according to a statement from Zoeller's office.

"(House Enrolled Act) 1210 ... is not targeted at managed care organizations, nor is it directed at family planning choice," the brief said. "It is targeted at preventing indirect subsidy of abortions, which Congress expressly excludes as a form of 'family planning' payable by Medicaid."

Pratt's ruling stops the enforcement of two parts of the law, the Medicaid defunding to abortion providers and a requirement of informed consent regarding fetal pain at 20 weeks. Pratt denied Planned Parenthood of Indiana's request for a preliminary injunction on the informed consent requirement that medical professionals must tell a patient that human life begins at conception.

Al Raffin, of Porter, president of the anti-abortion rights group Porter County Right to Life, could not be reached for comment Friday night, but previously told The Times he agreed with House Enrolled Act 1210.

"Biologically, it is a known fact that life begins at the moment of conception and that an abortion is the taking of an innocent human life, a life in its earliest forms," Raffin said. "There are other women's health care providers who provide the other services that (Planned Parenthood) provides and who do not engage in abortion services."

Lake County Right to Life's offices were closed by the time of the ruling Friday, and a spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-reg...l#ixzz1QU6nmM7W

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/j...ecommend-servi/

Indiana Planned Parenthood clinics recommend services elsewhere

The Washington Times

6:33 a.m., Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Mugshot** FILE ** Sue Swayze, a lobbyist for Indiana Right to Life, discusses a hearing in federal court where Planned Parenthood of Indiana is seeking a injunction against a law ending most of their state funding outside the Federal Courthouse in Indianapolis, Monday, June 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy

Indiana Planned Parenthood clinics are telling potential patients that the non-abortion services they provide are readily available elsewhere, despite claims made by the group’s national spokeswoman that the state’s funding cuts will deprive poor women of basic medical care.

The referrals were made during calls to numerous clinics made by a pro-life group that frequently targets Planned Parenthood with video and audio stings.

In a video posted on YouTube.com early Wednesday, Live Action juxtaposes the recorded phone calls with footage of Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards on CNN saying laws in Indiana and elsewhere barring Medicaid funding for abortion providers would deny birth control, Pap smears and other OB/GYN care.

In the CNN clip, Ms. Richards says she gets letters “every day” from women saying, “I can’t believe that the state legislature or the U.S. Congress is gonna tell me I can’t get [care] where I’ve been going to Planned Parenthood for years for my preventive care, for my birth control, and they’re telling me now I can’t go to the health-care provider that I trust.”

In the recorded calls to Indiana Planned Parenthood clinics, however, callers were told they could get the requested services from other clinics and their designated primary-care physicians, which all Medicaid recipients have.

The YouTube clip features audio recordings of phone calls to five Planned Parenthood clinics from a Live Action sting artist, who doesn’t identify herself as such.

When the caller “finds out” that Planned Parenthood can’t see Medicaid patients, she asks the clinic representative whether there’s somewhere else to go, and they all
respond affirmatively.

A Terre Haute clinic worker says, “if you have Medicaid, you should have a primary-care physician listed with your Medicaid.” A Planned Parenthood representative in Michigan City gives similar advice about getting a “Well Woman” health-care screenings, saying “your primary doctor should be able to do that. I mean, that’s what they’re there for.”

Planned Parenthood representatives in Fort Wayne and Merrillville both give the caller specific recommendations of local community health-care centers. The Merrillville clinic representative specifies, when asked, that “they have the same services we have.”

According to a statement Wednesday from Live Action, the group called 16 of Indiana’s 28 Planned Parenthood outlets and all of them gave out similar advice — that Medicaid patients had other avenues to receive health care.

Since the calls were made, the Indiana law barring Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, estimated at $1.4 million, has been stayed by a federal judge and the legal wrangling continued Tuesday.

The Obama administration had intervened on Planned Parenthood’s behalf and threatened the $5 billion Indiana gets from the federal government to help fund the state-federal health insurance plan for the poor and disabled, which has 1 million Indiana clients. According to wire-service reports, Planned Parenthood serves about 9,300 Indiana Medicaid recipients.

In previous stings against Planned Parenthood, Live Action has accused representatives of the nation’s largest abortion provider of making false claims about the non-abortion-health care it performs, specifically being an important provider of mammograms.

“According to Planned Parenthood’s own statistics, their 28 clinics serve less than 1% of Indiana Medicaid patients, yet they do more than 50% of Indiana abortions,”

Live Action founder Lila Rose said in Wednesday’s statement, going on to note that “there are over 800 other Medicaid providers available to these women in the counties with Planned Parenthood clinics alone.”

Other Live Action stings have accused Planned Parenthood of covering up sex-abuse, failing to meet state laws on parental notification and accepting donations from racists to abort blacks.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...7a872731669.txt

Medicaid official rules against Indiana abortion law

By CHARLES WILSON
Associated Press
Published: Monday, July 9, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s decision to deny Planned Parenthood Medicaid funds because it performs abortions denies women the freedom to choose their health care providers, a federal hearing officer said.

The state had asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Chicago to reconsider its June 2011 ruling that found changes in Indiana’s Medicaid plan unacceptable. But a hearing officer recommended in documents released Friday that a CMS administrator uphold the agency’s initial decision.

The changes to Indiana’s plan resulted from a 2011 law that would have made the state the first to deny the organization Medicaid funds for general health services, including cancer screenings. The law has been on hold while the dispute works its way through the courts.

The Indiana attorney general’s office, which already is appealing a federal judge’s order blocking the law, said it may also contest the panel’s recommendation. The state had argued that the dispute should be decided administratively by the CMS, not in court.

“Because this is a recommendation, the Attorney General’s Office has a chance to file an exception to it before the CMS administrator makes a final decision,” the agency said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana said it was gratified by the decision.

“Through its appeal, the State was continuing its attack on women’s rights and attempting to restrict access to basic, lifesaving services such as Pap tests, breast exams, STD testing and treatment, and birth control,” Betty Cockrum, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said in a statement.

While Planned Parenthood officials had feared they might have to close some of the organization’s 28 clinics in Indiana or suspend some services because of a loss of Medicaid funds, that has not happened so far. Cockrum has said about 9,300 women rely on Planned Parenthood for their health care.

Indiana had argued that Medicaid funds intended to help groups like Planned Parenthood provide general health care would indirectly subsidize abortions. The Hyde Amendment, a 1976 provision named after the late Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., bans all federal funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is at risk.

The state also said Planned Parenthood could continue to receive Medicaid funding if it established separate fiscal entities for abortion and other health care. But CMS said such an option was premature.

Hearing officer Benjamin Cohen wrote that the Indiana law violated the federal requirement that individuals must have the freedom to obtain care from any qualified provider. Restricting that choice just because a care provider also offers non-covered care isn’t allowed, he wrote.

Indiana asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago last August to lift U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt’s June 24, 2011, preliminary injunction blocking parts of the abortion law. The court has not yet ruled.

Another federal appeals court ruled in May that Texas cannot ban Planned Parenthood from receiving state funds, at least until a lower court has a chance to hear formal arguments. A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that there’s sufficient evidence the state’s law preventing Planned Parenthood from participating in the Women’s Health Program is unconstitutional.