Federal court: Arkansas can block Planned Parenthood money

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court panel has ruled Arkansas can block Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood over videos secretly recorded by an anti-abortion group.

A 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel today vacated preliminary injunctions a federal judge issued preventing the state from suspending any Medicaid payments for patients who receive services from Planned Parenthood. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson ended the state's Medicaid contract with the organization in 2015 over the videos.

A federal judge initially ordered the state to continue the payments to three patients who had sued over the move and later expanded that order to anyone who seeks or wants to obtain services from the organization's health centers in Arkansas.