Planned Parenthood sues over Bobby Jindal’s plan to strip Medicaid funding

Planned Parenthood has launched legal action against Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s administration in a bid to block the state's efforts to strip the health care provider of Medicaid funding.

Jindal, a Republican presidential candidate, announced plans this month to cut off the payments, citing hidden-camera videos that accuse the organization of profiting from fetal tissue sales. Planned Parenthood denies the allegations.

“In recent weeks, it has been shocking to see reports of the alleged activities taking place at Planned Parenthood facilities across the country,” said Jindal in a statement. “Planned Parenthood does not represent the values of the people of Louisiana and shows a fundamental disrespect for human life. It has become clear that this is not an organization that is worthy of receiving public assistance from the state,” he added. Louisiana has also opened an investigation into Planned Parenthood over the issue.

But in a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast says termination of its Medicaid provider agreements will limit health services for poor people. The lawsuit says the Jindal administration is violating federal law and unconstitutionally penalizing patients for their association with Planned Parenthood.

The Medicaid payments are set to end Sept. 2 unless Planned Parenthood gets the injunction it's seeking.

Planned Parenthood says that if the court does not step in, more than 5,200 patients could lose access to their health care provider. Nearly 1 in 5 women in Louisiana are uninsured, according to a Gallup-Healthways' survey.

“When Governor Jindal and other politicians try to cut Planned Parenthood's funding to score political points, what they're actually doing is ensuring that some women's cancer will get worse before it's caught and that HIV and other infections will spread," said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement.

Steve Spires of the Louisiana Budget Project — an independent, non-partisan organization that monitors public policy impacts on low-income families — pointed out that Louisiana ranks sixth in the nation for cervical cancer deaths and that many of which could be prevented by the screenings and exams provided by Planned Parenthood.

Federal officials have warned states that blocking Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood could violate the law.

Planned Parenthood’s southeast division is exploring legal options to challenge a similar Medicaid defunding law in Alabama, and the organization has won previous battles over Medicaid funding in both Arizona and Indiana.

Al Jazeera with wire services. Additional reporting from Jessica Rosgaard.