As in Arkansas, a federal judge has blocked Texas from cutting off federal money that flows to Planned Parenthood clinics for non-abortion medical services.

It’s the fifth state in which a judge has found it unconstitutional for a state to block money to Planned Parenthood because of objections to abortion or providing fetal tissue to medical research, both legal activities.

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UPDATE: And speaking of Planned Parenthood, although it only provides pharmaceutical abortions in the early stages of pregnancy, it issued a statement on a House committee approval of the latest anti-abortion legislation in Arkansas, this aimed at putting the only clinical abortion provider in Arkansas out of business by outlawing the most common and safest procedure used in the second trimester (legally protected under federal court precedent)

Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes (PPGPV) vehemently opposes House Bill 1032, which would ban the most common method of second trimester abortion. This legislation ties doctors’ hands, preventing them from having every option available when providing a patient with the best possible care. Politicians should not be able to practice medicine without a license and interfere with safe medical practices that threaten a woman’s constitutional right to safe and legal abortion.

“Today, the Arkansas House Public Health Committee displayed complete and utter disregard for medical science, in moving to ban the most common second trimester abortion method. Leaders of the house committee blocked balanced debate by hearing a disproportionate amount of one-sided, inflammatory, and medically inaccurate information limiting dialogue and silencing Planned Parenthood’s testimony. This is a gross injustice to the people who rely on these lawmakers to hear all sides of an issue before passing judgment,” Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes CEO, Laura McQuade said.

“Attacks on medical science are constitutionally unsound and have not passed muster in courts across this region. Any attempt to block a patient’s right to safe and legal abortion will not go unchallenged. The state of Arkansas should not waste taxpayer dollars on this ideological war. We urge the Arkansas legislature to act responsibly and return to work creating policies that improve health outcomes for its communities.”

Leading medical experts like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Medical Association (AMA) agree that abortion is one of the safest procedures with some of the lowest complication rates of any medical procedure. PPGPV will not back down from this unconstitutional attack, and will support the ACLU in its fight to ensure every patient’s right to safe and legal abortion is also equally accessible.

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