Texas sues over feds’ cutoff of women’s health funds in Planned Parenthood dispute

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20120316-texas-sues-over-feds-cutoff-of-womens-health-funds-in-planned-parenthood-dispute.ece


Published: 16 March 2012 09:04 PM

AUSTIN — The battle over the Women’s Health Program escalated again Friday, as the state sued to force the federal government to continue funding the program, even if Planned Parenthood is precluded from providing health services.

The filing came as newly released federal documents showed that the state should have known its strategy to seek a waiver would fail. The records, released to The Dallas Morning News, show that a similar request to exclude Planned Parenthood when the program was being started six years ago was turned down.

Long-standing federal Medicaid rules hold that women using federal money for family planning can choose their own physician. The state’s Republican leaders say Texas should have the option to exclude physicians working at Planned Parenthood, which has a separate affiliate that provides abortion services.

On Thursday, after months of wrangling, the federal Medicaid agency announced it would phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program because state officials refuse to follow Medicaid law.

The program serves 130,000 low-income women, providing cancer screening, diabetes testing and contraceptive services. The federal government provides about $31 million annually to run the program, while the state has kicked in about $3.5 million.

But the fight now is revolving around the political hot-button issues of states’ rights and abortion. As the federal money spigot was closing, Attorney General Greg Abbott responded by filing the lawsuit, saying the Obama administration was defending abortion groups and interfering with “Texas’ successful efforts to promote health.”

Gov. Rick Perry applauded the lawsuit. “The Obama administration’s decision to deny health care to more than 100,000 low-income Texas women demonstrates his unwavering allegiance to abortion providers and their affiliates,” he said.