Texas Ends Medicaid Funding to Planned Parenthood

The New York Times (Oct. 20, 2015): More Sparring over Planned Parenthood Funds:

Texas announced Monday that it was cutting off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood clinics after undercover videos that featured discussions about fetal tissue. The move could lead to a court fight like the one unfolding in neighboring Louisiana, where a federal judge earlier Monday ordered the state to continue Medicaid funding for at least 14 days to Planned Parenthood, which sued after Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican presidential candidate, ordered payments stopped. Texas officials sent a letter to Planned Parenthood affiliates saying the clinics were potentially “liable, directly or by affiliation, for a series of serious Medicaid program violations” highlighted in the videos. Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, ordered an investigation after the footage was released by an anti-abortion group that alleges that Planned Parenthood illegally sold fetal tissue for profit. The agency has denied the accusations, saying the videos were deceptively edited and noting that thousands of women seek other health care services through Medicaid at its clinics.