A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from denying Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood services until a lawsuit on the matter is resolved, reports Southwest Times Record.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction that blocks Planned Parenthood defunding. Her decision comes after Des Moines, Iowa-based Planned Parenthood of the Heartland asked the judge to expand a preliminary injunction she issued last October banning Arkansas from denying Medicaid funding for services to three patients, according to the article.
The issue stems from a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and the three patients after Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) announced last summer that Arkansas would cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, reports Southwest Times Record.
After Judge Baker issued the October injunction, Planned Parenthood filed a motion for class-action status, and that motion was granted by Judge Baker in January, the report states. According to the report, Planned Parenthood then made the case that Planned Parenthood and its patients would suffer irreparable harm unless the injunction was expanded.
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