Tag Archives: Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood and Texas back in court

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I presume this was the appeal of the injunction that was granted to Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit challenging the state’s attempt to destroy the Women’s Health Program. A federal appeals court will review a new Texas rule that prohibits … Continue reading →

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A trio of trial updates

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Planned Parenthood versus Texas: A ruling affecting health care, including contraception, for some 130,000 low-income Texas women probably won’t come until late this year as Planned Parenthood and the state of Texas plan for mid-October oral arguments in their legal … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit lifts its stay of Planned Parenthood injunction

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Whiplash alert! U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel on Monday granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood in the case, saying the state couldn’t bar the group until the lawsuit is decided. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly sought a stay … Continue reading →

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Texas gets stay of injunction

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And just like that, we’re back where we started. Late last night, a federal appeals court judge granted Texas an emergency stay halting Planned Parenthood’s participation in the Women’s Health Program. Justice Jerry Smith of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court … Continue reading →

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Injunction granted to Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge on Monday stopped Texas from preventing Planned Parenthood from getting state funds through the Women’s Health Program. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin ruled there is sufficient evidence that a law banning Planned Parenthood from … Continue reading →

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The state shows its intent in Planned Parenthood lawsuit

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in order to block the “Affiliate Rule” that Rick Perry is using to deny Medicaid funds to their clinics for the Women’s Health Program. In the opening … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry’s vision for women’s health in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More talk than action, and the numbers don’t add up. Are we surprised? Texas health officials have delivered a proposal to the federal government that outlines their plans for transitioning the Women’s Health Program from a program primarily supported by … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood sues Texas

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Two can play at that game. Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a rule aimed at excluding their health centers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Austin, … Continue reading →

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The Texas bait and switch

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You almost have to admire the sheer brazenness of it all. Almost. In a fiscal switcheroo, Texas could free up state dollars to fund the embattled Women’s Health Program by seeking federal block grants for other programs, the state’s health … Continue reading →

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And then they went right back to not caring about women

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Such a delightfully cynical little stunt. Thirteen Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation wrote a letter to President Obama protesting the administration’s decision to phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program. The administration took the action after … Continue reading →

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Mockery is the best medicine

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Business Insider comes across the Facebook fun. Women aren’t too happy with Rick Perry’s stance on family planning funding. Today, they let him know the best way they could, with some well-directed Internet snark. Posts asking Perry’s advice about everything … Continue reading →

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Abbott files suit over WHP

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Say what? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is filing yet another lawsuit against the federal government, this one, no surprise, over the Women’s Health Program. Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders had predicted for weeks: that they are … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, WHP

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Rick! Federal health officials announced Thursday what state leaders have predicted for weeks: that they are halting funding for Texas’ Women’s Health Program. Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, said Texas left her … Continue reading →

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Trying to find a way with the WHP

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I admire and applaud the effort. I abhor the fact that it was needed. Leading Houston Democrats in favor of a seemingly doomed health care program for low-income women are pushing to bypass the state to keep federal money flowing … Continue reading →

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Perry’s empty promise on the Women’s Health Program

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Our Governor talks big, but his words have no meaning. The state will find the cash to continue a women’s health program whose federal funding is threatened because of a decision to keep Planned Parenthood from participating, Gov. Rick Perry … Continue reading →

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It’s time to go on the offensive for women’s health

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I believe that just as Democrats must make the 2012 elections in Texas about public education, they must also make them about health care, in particular access to health care for women. There’s some polling data to suggest this will … Continue reading →

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A place to start

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least one elected Republican is feeling a bit angsty about the Republican war on women’s health. For some GOP lawmakers, the issue gets deeply personal, and the line between party loyalty, allegiance to anti-abortion politics and public health is … Continue reading →

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Who cares about women, anyway?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas certainly doesn’t. If there was any hope that the state was seeking a compromise with the federal government over Texas’ Women’s Health Program, it’s fading fast. At the direction of lawmakers and Texas Attorney General Greg … Continue reading →

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Pinterest

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Rachel brings up a topic that I admit had not occurred to me. Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Pinterest. Chances are, if you’re a woman, your hand is up right now. Chances are, if you’re a man, you … Continue reading →

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Not really buying it, Komen

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So Komen has supposedly reversed itself on Planned Parenthood. I’ve read their statement, as well as TBogg’s improved version of it, and I don’t see a “reversal” so much as I see a bunch of weasel words that may very … Continue reading →

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Komen outrage

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m speechless. In a shocking move Tuesday afternoon, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the country’s most famous breast cancer charity, pulled its grants for breast-cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. Komen claims that their reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit tosses injunction against sonogram law

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. A panel of federal appellate judges has authorized Texas officials to enforce a controversial abortion sonogram law while its constitutionality is being challenged in court. In an opinion, the judges said the measure’s opponents “failed to demonstrate constitutional flaws” … Continue reading →

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Help keep access to birth control

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, it’s been a rough year for advocates of reproductive freedom, here and elsewhere in the country. There’s a lot of work to be done, starting with the next election, to repair the damage and move things forward … Continue reading →

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Party Like A Rock Star 2011

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Looking for something to do this Saturday? Here’s an idea: I am sadly unable to make it this year, but I can attest from past experience that it’s a fine event, and this is definitely now-more-than-ever time. So click the … Continue reading →

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Fiscal and health care bills pass

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one less reason for a special session. One key budget-related bill, Senate Bill 2, won final approval from both chambers this afternoon and is headed to the governor’s desk. SB 2 is an appropriations bill that goes hand-in-hand with … Continue reading →

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Feds may prevent some cuts to Planned Parenthood

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, at least potentially. Stephanie Goodman of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirms that the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a bulletin advising state officials that federal rules do not permit states to ban … Continue reading →

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It’s always been about controlling women

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sadly, there’s nothing new about this. Senate Finance Committee Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said Monday afternoon that budget negotiators will likely adopt a 2012-13 family planning budget that is “pretty close” to the House’s proposal — $37 million for low-income … Continue reading →

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How little do the Republicans care about women’s health?

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t care at all. An innovative women’s health initiative is heading toward oblivion over a legislative impasse between abortion rights opponents and supporters even though the program has nothing to do with abortions. Unless renewed by law, the 5-year-old … Continue reading →

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Planned Parenthood roundup

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, it’s been a truly crappy year for women’s health, family planning, and Planned Parenthood. All over the country there has been a relentless assault on reproductive freedom, which has spilled over into health care and access to … Continue reading →

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Senate makes progress on the budget

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They still haven’t gotten to the actual budget yet, but they’ve passed a bill that allows for some extra “non-tax revenue” plus a bunch of accounting gimmicks, which makes their less-penurious-than-the-House budget possible. The Texas Senate, digging publicly for money … Continue reading →

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Fight over family planning funds coming

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a small piece of the difference between the House and Senate budgets, but it will surely be a big part of the fight over how the two are reconciled. The Senate budget approved by the Finance Committee would spend … Continue reading →

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What Planned Parenthood actually does

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since the only thing apparently holding up a deal to prevent a government shutdown is the GOP’s mulish insistence on de-funding Planned Parenthood, perhaps it’s time we all understood what Planned Parenthood actually does. Ezra Klein gives the explanation, with … Continue reading →

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Senate pushes back on House efforts to redirect family planning funds

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A little sanity is always nice to see. State budget cuts taking aim at Planned Parenthood may limit the availability of family planning services for many poor Texans and have the unintended consequence of increasing unwanted pregnancies, two key lawmakers … Continue reading →

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A little budgeters remorse?

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just a little. Not much. As a vote looms on a bare-bones budget that would slash education and threaten nursing homes with closure, House GOP leaders softened their rhetoric on Tuesday to emphasize that it is a starting point and … Continue reading →

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