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Posted By Admin on September 2, 2011

Planned Parenthood is threatening to close its Hays, Kan., clinic this Friday unless it learns by then that its federal family planning funds will be restored.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The agency filed court papers that said it must be assured of receiving funds by Sept. 16 to keep the clinic open. It serves an estimated 960 women, men and teens yearly, according to court records.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The Kansas Legislature stripped Planned Parenthood of about $330,000 in the new budget for fiscal 2011-12 and redirected that money primarily to public health departments.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked the state from enforcing the new provision, but the state hasnamp;#x2019;t yet freed up the money. The case is on appeal.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In its filing, Planned Parenthood also said that without the funding, its Wichita clinic would discontinue a federal sliding fee schedule, which discounts services for patients based on their income.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The state has asked the judge whether it would suffice to pay Planned Parenthood monthly to meet the court order while the case is on appeal. Planned Parenthood has countered that it should be paid quarterly.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt; The state has argued that Planned Parenthood has never shown evidence that losing the money would cause its clinics to curtail services. lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;State lawyers have argued that that the money in question is only 5.5 percent of the Planned Parenthoodamp;#x2019;s revenue, court papers show. They said that Planned Parenthoodamp;#x2019;s other operations, including abortions, would more than make up for any shortfall in its Wichita and Hays offices.

Categories: Funding
Tags: Funding