NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Planned Parenthood of Louisiana will continue to receive Medicaid funding from the state for the next 14 days.
It’s just one step in a lengthy process after allegations the clinic was profiting from selling fetal tissue.
But not everyone is happy with the decision.
“We’re disappointed that the judge today prevented Louisiana from ensuring that tax payer dollars are not going to go to Planned Parenthood, that does abortions and also sells the body parts of unborn babies after an abortion,” says LA Right to Life Executive Director Ben Clapper.
Still, pro-choice enthusiasts are singing a different tune.
Planned Parenthood issued a statement saying: “This is a victory for the men and women of Louisiana.”
In September, videos surfaced showing the health care center’s alleged selling and profiting of body parts of aborted fetuses, sparking outrage and prompting Governor Bobby Jindal’s order to block the funding in the first place.
But the video leaks were enough for the state of Texas to cut all state Medicaid funding to the non-profit.
“There are alternative health care providers to Planned Parenthood in New Orleans and Baton Rouge where their two facilities are. There are low-cost womens health care services that are providing the same services that Planned Parenthood is providing except abortion,” says Clapper.
But according to documents provided by Planned Parenthood, the Jindal administration was having difficulty proving that an end to government funding for the health center wouldn’t negatively affect thousands of patients.
On the state’s pared-down list, only five providers are in Baton Rouge, two of which don’t offer contraception and at one provider, the earliest date it can see new patients was nearly two months out.
Melissa Flournoy with Planned Parenthood’s Gulf Coast chapter says: “This ruling is a victory for the more than 5,200 women and men in Louisiana who rely on Planned Parenthood for care through Medicaid.
It is shameful that Governor Jindal is trying to score political points by blocking women’s access to critical health care,” says Flournoy.