Planned Parenthood Wins Federal Funds to Replace Money Cut by GOP-Led Legislature
Abstract
Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina (PPCNC) recently won $426,000 in federal Title X funding, averting the closure of its North Durham clinic. Without the federal aid, a state cut of $125,000 would have led to the office’s shuttering.
“We have patients who have been coming to us for over a decade,” said Emily Adams, vice president of operations. “When they turned to us and we didn’t have sure resources, that’s where it really hits.”
Now with greater resources secured, the Durham clinic is expecting a four-fold increase in its number of patients, to about 2,000 a year, Adams said. It provides contraceptives, Pap smears, breast exams, and testing for STDs, diabete,s and cholesterol; the clinic does not perform abortions.
In June 2011, the General Assembly passed a budget with a provision that made Planned Parenthood ineligible for state-administered funding. After the group filed suit, a federal judge ordered the state to honor its contract with Planned Parenthood pending the litigation’s outcome. US District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. ruled in June that the provision was unconstitutional on several grounds; however, that decision did not deal with this year’s budget bill, which took effect July 1. In response, the organization applied directly for federal funds, as it has done in other states.
After learning it had received the full amount requested, PPCNC dropped its federal lawsuit. “We’d much rather focus on expanding care for our patients than litigating,” said Paige Johnson, vice president of external and governmental affairs.
Source
http://www.news-observer.com/
Date of Publication
07/24/2012
Author
Craig Jarvis
Article Type
General media
Article Category
National News
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