Lawsuit has been filed by abortion providers to block new law
PHOENIX - Abortion providers filed suit in federal court Thursday to block a new state law that is designed to cut off other state and federal dollars they get.
Attorneys for Planned Parenthood Arizona and Desert Star Family Planning claim the measure, set to take effect in three weeks, illegally interferes with the right of Medicaid recipients to get family planning services where they want -- in this case, specifically from them. And that, they say, is a violation of federal Medicaid regulations.
Attorney Jennifer Lee of the American Civil Liberties Union said she is asking Judge Roslyn Silver to prevent the statute from taking effect as scheduled on Aug. 6. No hearing has yet been set.
The law, signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, allows the director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid program, at his “sole discretion’’ to disqualify any entity that does not fully segregate the tax dollars it receives from those used from other sources to provide abortions. The aim is to ensure none of those taxpayer dollars go to providing elective abortions, right down to all overhead for things like rent, lights and heat.
Read more: http://www.dcourier.com/news/2016/jul/15/lawsuit-has-been-filed-abortion-providers-block-ne/
