LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The state of Arkansas has formally appealed a federal judge’s order preventing the state from blocking Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood over videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion group.
The appeal was filed Monday by Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It claims U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker did not follow the proper legal standard when she granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state from suspending payments to Planned Parenthood for any services to Medicaid patients in the state.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson last year terminated the state’s Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood. Baker ordered the state to continue payments for three patients who had sued over the move, then expanded it to include anyone who wants services from its health centers in Arkansas.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.