AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A federal appeals court panel has lifted a lower-court ban that prohibited Texas from eliminating Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling Thursday in New Orleans. The decision lifts the preliminary injunction District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin imposed on the state of Texas in February 2017.
The three appeals judges agreed that Sparks didn’t follow proper standard in deciding to impose the ban sought by five Planned Parenthood affiliates and seven individuals.
The appeals court returned the case to Sparks to determine if the state has cause to end Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid participation under the program’s rules or if its actions were “arbitrary and capricious.”
