A federal appeals court granted a temporary injunction on Wednesday, halting Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s effort to deny state funding to Planned Parenthood.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision comes less than a week after U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that Herbert had the authority to deny the organization $275,000 in state contracts for sex education and sexually transmitted disease testing programs. Waddoups’ ruling reversed a temporary restraining order from September that prevented Herbert from moving forward with his attempts to defund the healthcare provider.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah CEO Karrie Galloway said in a statement, “We are thrilled with today’s decision, which will allow our trusted health care providers and educators to continue serving the thousands of Utahns who depend on us as the appeals process proceeds.”
In August, Herbert ordered that the state cut funding to Planned Parenthood in light of “ongoing concerns about the organization,” after the release of several surreptitiously recorded and highly-edited videos by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress (CMP). The videos, which falsely accused Planned Parenthood of “selling” fetal tissue, have been debunked repeatedly. Nevertheless, since their release, Planned Parenthood has been under a barrage of state- and federal attacks. To date, zero investigations have found evidence of wrongdoing.
Media Resources: The Salt Lake Tribune 12/30/15; The Associated Press 12/22/15; Fox13 Salt Lake City 12/30/15; Governor Gary Herbert Press Release 8/14/15; Feminist Newswire 9/1/15
