TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Kansas from cutting off Medicaid funding for two Planned Parenthood affiliates. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kansas, issued the temporary order Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by local Planned Parenthood affiliates. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment planned to cut off funding Thursday for services such as exams and cancer screenings for poor patients receiving health coverage through Kansas's Medicaid program. Federal courts have prevented other states from cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. Kansas state health officials have cited a dispute over a clinic inspection in December and allegations against Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oklahoma and Texas that Planned Parenthood has called unfounded. Planned Parenthood says it's being targeted because it provides abortions, even though Medicaid funds don't cover abortions.
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