AUSTIN (CN) - Planned Parenthood took another hit on Friday when a judge refused to let its affiliates remain in a health care program for low-income Texas women.
The ruling from Travis County Court addresses one of several complaints that Planned Parenthood has filed in state and federal court since 2011. That year, the Texas Legislature excluded abortion providers and their affiliates from the Texas Women's Health Program.
In response, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pulled federal funding from the state program altogether. Texas sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the lost funds, which supported most of the program's budget. The parties filed a stipulation of dismissal last week.
Gov. Rick Perry has said that the Texas Women's Health Program will continue to offer its services, with or without federal funding.
In Travis County, Judge Stephen Yelenosky had previously issued a temporary November ruling that favored Planned Parenthood. He found Friday that Planned Parenthood was unlikely to succeed at trial.
The governor praised the outcome.
"This is great news for Texas women and further proves that Planned Parenthood's case attempting to derail the Texas Women's Health Program lacks merit and is nothing more than a desperate move by an organization more concerned with obtaining taxpayer money than with helping women get care," Perry said in a statement. "With this ruling, our state can continue caring for Texas women."
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