US District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted a preliminary injunction to block a law eliminating state and Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN).The injunction allows PPIN clinics providing preventive health services to again receive Medicaid reimbursements. The Indiana solicitor general indicated that it will appeal the decision to the Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Pratt explained that had she not granted this preliminary injunction, the law would “exact a devastating financial toll on Planned Parenthood of Indiana and hinder its ability to continue serving patients’ general health needs.” She added, “denying the injunction could pit the federal government against the state of Indiana in a high-stakes political impasse. 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.”
Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s President Betty Cockrum said that this injunction “will have immediate, positive consequences for our patients and our organization.” This case is potentially significant not only for PPIN but also nationally, as other states have proposed similar legislation.
The Indiana Law, which was passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature and signed into law by Governor Mitch Daniels (R), prohibits contracting for health care services other than abortions with Planned Parenthood of Indiana, which also provides abortion services from other monies. It prohibits Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding for preventive healthcare services other than abortion.
Media Resources: National Partnership for Women & Families 6/27/11, 6/28/11; Reuters 6/25/11; Associated Press 6/25/11; New York Times 6/24/11; Feminist Daily Newswire 6/2/11, 5/11/11, 4/29/11
