Planned Parenthood files lawsuit to prevent Texas from cutting off Medicaid funds

Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit on Friday asking for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Texas to prevent the state from cutting off the organization's Medicaid funding.

In December, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced that Planned Parenthood will no longer receive taxpayer money through the Medicaid program.

HHSC Inspector General Stuart Bowen said that the undercover videos, which allegedly showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sales of aborted baby parts, was the main reason behind the decision.

Around $4.2 million in taxpayer money was received by the abortion provider through Medicaid in 2015. Texas is set to stop sending the funds to Planned Parenthood on Jan. 21 unless the judge grants an injunction.

Federal judges have prevented the efforts of other states such as Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas and Mississippi to prevent the abortion chain from receiving Medicaid funding.

"Courts have unanimously prevented these terminations and agreed that preventing Medicaid enrollees from obtaining care from the qualified provider of their choice violates federal law," the Planned Parenthood lawyers wrote in their lawsuit, according to The Guardian.

Bowen said that the undercover videos showed that Planned Parenthood "violated state and federal law."

"Your actions violate generally accepted medical standards, as reflected in state and federal law, and are Medicaid program violations that justify termination," Bowen wrote in his letter to the abortion provider.

In its petition, Planned Parenthood insisted that it did not commit illegal acts regarding its handling of aborted baby parts. It argued that the state's decision to cut off its Medicaid funding would cause difficulties for low-income women seeking its health services.

"Women and men who are unable to obtain family planning care, or encounter delays in obtaining it, can face devastating consequences, including undetected cancers and diseases," the petition stated.

"Delays in obtaining contraception will result in unintended pregnancies, many of which may end in abortion," it continued.

Last month, a new Department of Health and Human Services regulation was approved by President Barack Obama to prevent states from blocking Title X funding from health care providers that perform abortions.

According to Life News, Planned Parenthood performs around 320,000 abortions in the U.S. and receives $550 million in taxpayer money nationally each year.