Protracted Legal Battle Could Result From States’ Efforts To Cut Off Medicaid Funds To Planned Parenthood
As fallout continues from the covertly taped Planned Parenthood videos, Politico reports that two of the branches featured stopped donating fetal tissue to research several years ago. Meanwhile, a series of anti-abortion protests were held at Planned Parenthood facilities over the weekend.
Los Angeles Times:
States May Not Have Legal Right To Cut Medicaid Funds To Planned Parenthood Clinics
The secretly recorded videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing how fetal tissue may be used for medical research spurred Republican governors in several states to announce a cutoff of Medicaid funds to the group's clinics. But it is not clear they are permitted to do so under federal law. (Savage, 8/24)
Politico Pro:
Abortion Clinics In 2 States Ended Tissue Donation Pre-Sting
Two Planned Parenthood branches prominently featured in an anti-abortion group’s videos about alleged sales of fetal tissue stopped donating material several years ago, well before the undercover operation began. The Center for Medical Progress videos have provoked a national backlash, spurring Republicans in Congress to urge defunding of the women’s health organization and about a dozen states to launch their own investigations. (Pradhan, 8/21)
Reuters:
Anti-Abortion Protesters Rally At Planned Parenthood Sites
Thousands of anti-abortion protesters on Saturday demonstrated at Planned Parenthood sites around the United States where they called for the federal government to end funding for the health organization. The protests staged at dozens of Planned Parenthood sites came after an anti-abortion group released an eighth video on Friday purporting to show Planned Parenthood officials negotiating prices for aborted fetal tissue. (8/22)
The Arizona Republic:
Supporters, Opponents Rally At Planned Parenthood Sites In Arizona, U.S.
At Planned Parenthood locations across the Valley and the nation Saturday, people supported the women’s health-care provider while others stood outside in protest of abortions. Those standing with Planned Parenthood at its Phoenix location congregated inside a parking garage at 15th Street and Camelback Road as music blasted. The crowd was a sea of pink and supporters toted signs defending the organization. (D'Angelo, 8/22)
The Spokesman-Review:
Hundreds Rally Against Planned Parenthood In Spokane
At a weekend rally outside Planned Parenthood in north Spokane, state Rep. Matt Shea called the group “an evil organization” committing acts on par with Nazi Germany. The speech from conservative lawmaker Shea, and posters pairing graphic images with dollar signs along Division Street, are part of the latest volley in a perennial political debate that predates the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion. The Spokane protest Saturday, part of a series of events planned nationwide, drew about 200 participants. (Hill, 8/23)
In other abortion-related news, an Ohio bill would ban the procedure for cases of fetal Down syndrome diagnoses -
The New York Times:
Ohio Bill Would Ban Abortion If Down Syndrome Is Reason
Opening a new front in the abortion wars, abortion opponents are pushing Ohio to make it illegal for a doctor to perform an abortion if a woman is terminating her pregnancy to avoid having a baby with Down syndrome. The legislature is expected to approve the measure this fall because lawmakers endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, which supports the bill, make up more than two-thirds of both houses. (Lewin, 8/22)
And NPR looks at how the legal system will view frozen embryos -
NPR:
After A Divorce, What Happens To A Couple's Frozen Embryos?
Soon after their wedding, Dr. Mimi Lee and Stephen Findley decided to create five embryos. Lee had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she worried that treatment would leave her infertile. Now that they're divorced, Lee wants to use them; Findley, however, does not. Those embryos are at the heart of a court case that will soon decide a very modern problem: Which member of a divorced couple gets control of their frozen embryos? (Ludden, 8/22)