[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama [official website] issued an order [opinion, PDF] on Wednesday prohibiting Alabama Governor Robert Bentley [official website] from terminating the provider agreement between Medicaid and Planned Parenthood Southeast (PPSE) [advocacy website]. In August the governor advised the PPSE that Medicaid funding to its clinics in Birmingham and Mobile would be halted due to recent nationwide accusations that Planned Parenthood profits from selling fetal tissue. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood’s motion for preliminary injunction, which stated that such action would violate the right of Medicaid recipients to choose their medical provider for family planning services. Thompson said that the governor has not provided any legally substantial reasons to justify termination of funding. Furthermore, the PPSE claims that it does not engage in the alleged practice of selling fetuses and does not use government funding to provide abortion services. The governor has expressed concern [AL report] regarding Thompson’s order and intends to file an appeal.

The national controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood was ignited by undercover videos released by an anti-abortion group during the summer that purportedly showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the illegal sale of aborted fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood alleged the videos were composed of deceptive edits and incomplete information. Planned Parenthood filed the Alabama complaint [JURIST report] in August after Bentley terminated Medicaid provider agreements for the facility. Earlier this month a federal judge ordered Louisiana to continue funding [JURIST report] Planned Parenthood for at least 14 days pending further proceedings. Last month the US House of Representatives [official website] approved [JURIST report] the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, a bill that would cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood.