Earlier this year, Kansas legislators approved a new budget that transferred taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood to family planning groups that don’t provide abortions. This week, a federal judge ruled the state has to fund the group – whether it wants to or not – at least until an appeal on the case is heard.
After Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Western Missouri complained it would have to close one or more of its Kansas facilities by the end of this week if it loses taxpayer support, U.S. District Court Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled the state must keep making quarterly payments to the abortion group while its lawsuit over the new budget goes on at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Planned Parenthood says it’s being unfairly singled out by lawmakers who passed the new budget because it performs abortions.
Meanwhile, Kansas officials say they will not comply with Marten’s ruling because there are no voided contracts with Planned Parenthood to restore. It’s already shifted most of the $331,000 a year it was giving Planned Parenthood to other groups, via new contracts. Moreover, the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows states to determine which groups receive taxpayer dollars – not judges.
Source: CitizenLink