Planned Parenthood sues NC over state budget

The Republican-controlled legislature made it clear they did not want spend any money to fund Planned Parenthood in their new budget. Now it appears they will have to spend money fighting the organization in court.

Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina (PPCNC) filed suit Thursday in federal court to invalidate part of the budget that cuts off federal and state funds for family planning.

Planned Parenthood CEO Janet Colm says their organization is being singled out for its abortion-rights advocacy, and as a result, the state is denying preventative health care services to low-income women.

In an open letter on PPCNC’s website, Colm writes:

Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina has participated for years in state programs through which low-income women and men receive family planning health and education services, including life-saving cancer screening, annual exams and contraceptives.

Unfortunately, at a time when we know more people are in desperate need of access to high quality health care, not less, the North Carolina legislature overrode Governor Perdue’s veto and passed a state budget that takes these essential funds away from Planned Parenthood.

We’re fighting for you! Our patients deserve to receive cervical cancer screenings, breast exams, sex education, STD testing and treatment, and family planning from the provider they trust.

Our number one priority is our patients.  Our Board of Directors voted unanimously to absorb the state and federal funds we’re losing for up to two months. This gives the court time to act on our request for a temporary injunction while the lawsuit is heard.

Last week, Governor Bev Perdue vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill that required women seeking an abortion wait 24 hours, get an ultrasound, and receive state-mandated counseling. But the governor’s veto of the budget bill,  which cutoff Planned Parenthood funding among many other things, was overridden by Republicans and five Democrats in June.

To read Janet Colm’s full letter, click here.

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