Planned Parenthood

In a scathing letter to Orange County officials, Planned Parenthood accused them of having "gerrymandered" the process for doling out health grants and having imposed obstacles to prevent it from running a breast-health program.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to allow Indiana to block Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood clinics because they perform abortions. Without comment, the high court let stand decisions by a federal judge in Indiana and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago that prevented the measure from taking effect. The 2011 law would have banned Medicaid funds from going to an organization such as Planned Parenthood whose work includes performing abortions. Judge Diane S. Sykes, writing for the 7th Circuit last year, said the state's "defunding law excludes Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for a reason unrelated to its fitness to provide medical services, violating its patients' statutory right to obtain medical care from the qualified provider of their choice.

Re "Clinic fills a need at school," June 5 I don't know if it is cultural arrogance or moral confusion that motivates the L.A. Unified School District to collaborate with Planned Parenthood in running a clinic at a Boyle Heights high school. We are told that the birth control services offered are free and confidential, which of course means that the 16-year-old girl you profile can obtain these services without telling her parents. Given that the school is in a "heavily Latino" neighborhood, many of the parents are likely Roman Catholic and would not be happy about this service offered by the clinic.

President Obama spit his game, as the kids say, when he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at a Planned Parenthood conference a little over a week ago: “You're making me blush,” he cooed to their thunderous applause. “I love you back.” Oh, how he wooed them: “Forty years after the Supreme Court affirmed a woman's constitutional right to privacy, including the right to choose, we shouldn't have to remind people that when it comes to a woman's health, no politician should get to decide what's best for you.” A week later, he spit in their eye. His administration is fighting a federal judge's ruling that the emergency contraception pill known as Plan B should be available to teenagers and girls of all ages without a prescription.

Not everyone associated with the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure is happy about the group's decision to sever ties with Planned Parenthood. Susan G. Komen for the Cure Connecticut , an affiliate based in Farmington, Conn., expressed "frustration" with the situation, posting on its Facebook page: "The decision regarding the funding of Planned Parenthood was made by Susan G. Komen for the Cure National Headquarters....

The analysis in "Ad Watch" (June 1) conveyed a possible misperception that Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles may have taken a position in the mayoral race. This is not the case. Our loyal friends and supporters may issue individual expressions of support which should not be confused with the position of the organization as a whole. PPLA is prohibited by law from endorsing any political candidates, and we do our best to adhere to the letter of the law. JOAN GRIGGS BABBOTT MD Executive Director, PPLA

For those who haven't reached the saturation point regarding the fracas surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision - and then reversal - to cease awarding grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-health services, here's one more snippet of news. Karen Handel, former senior vice president for public policy at Komen, blasted Planned Parenthood in an interview with the Daily Beast, calling the organization a “gigantic bully, using Komen as its own personal punching bag.” Handel , who declared her antiabortion views during an unsuccessful run for Georgia governor in 2010, resigned from her Komen position earlier this week. She has since acknowledged her role in the move to drop Planned Parenthood from receiving future Komen grants.

What's the status of the congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood? Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood was based on the fact that Planned Parenthood is under congressional investigation and Komen has a newly adopted policy of not awarding funds to any organization that's being investigated by local, state or federal authorities, Komen spokeswoman Leslie Aun told the Associated Press ....

HOUSTON -- The brinkmanship continues as Texas battles to cut government funding to Planned Parenthood. Texas legislators passed a law last year to effectively remove Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from the Texas Medicaid Women's Health Program as of today.  Planned Parenthood clinics had sued the state to maintain funding and appeared to have won a victory Monday when a federal judge in Austin issued an injunction that...

A panel of federal appeals court judges ruled Friday that Texas cannot ban Planned Parenthood from receiving state funds while a federal lawsuit over funding is pending. The lawsuit, filed last month, concerns a law Texas legislators passed last year that would have eliminated funding to 49 Planned Parenthood clinics Tuesday. On Monday, before that could happen, a federal judge in Austin granted an injunction barring the state from enforcing the law until the federal case is resolved.

PPLA Food Fare: The annual Food Fare fundraiser for Planned Parenthood will take place at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Thurday. More than 100 vendors, restaurants, caterers and drink makers of various sorts (coffee, beer, wine ... ) will be participating in this year's event. The Beer Chicks, Superba Snack Bar, Church & State, Milo and Olive, Joe's Restaurant, Lemonade, Salt's Cure, Sotto, Plan Check, Beachy Cream, the Border Grill Truck, Golden Road Brewing Co., Kreation Juicery and Valerie Confections are some of the many local businesses coming out to support Planned Parenthood.

The diagnosis for what ails the conservative group Concerned Women for America: Social anemia. Irony-poor blood. The group is devoted, as its website says, to bringing “biblical principles into all levels of public policy.” Now it and some other conservative outlets have evidently hoisted themselves on their own petard, so eager to complain that Planned Parenthood is encouraging domestic abuse because of a video that, in fact, does precisely...

SEATTLE -- A man was stabbed seven times outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Grants Pass, Ore., after an altercation with an antiabortion protester. Police said Wednesday they have not yet made any arrests in connection with the case. "There may be arrests in the future, but that's still under investigation. There's still people we need to talk to," Lt. Dennis Ward told the Los Angeles Times. The incident began Tuesday afternoon when Grants Pass resident Kailah Clair, 22, kicked over antiabortion signs that had been placed outside the clinic by a protester, Christopher Tolhurst, according to a police report.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - Picking up where their contentious debate left off, President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney battled Wednesday for the support of female voters, underscoring their potentially decisive role in settling the fiercely competitive race. Buoyed by a much-improved performance Tuesday night, Obama traveled to the swing state of Iowa, where he renewed his attacks on Romney for proposing an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and again touted legislation he signed making it easier for women to sue for job discrimination.

HOUSTON -- Oklahoma is withdrawing federal funding to three Planned Parenthood clinics in Tulsa following similar efforts by lawmakers in half a dozen other states. Oklahoma State Department of Health officials have notified Planned Parenthood of the Heartland that at the end of December they would be terminating their contracts, federally funded through the Women, Infants and Children program. This year, the clinics had received about $454,000 from the program. “It was a business decision,” said Leslea Bennett-Webb, a spokeswoman for the state's health department told the Los Angeles Times.

Texas can cut off funds for Planned Parenthood clinics before a trial concerning the legality of its ban on funding organizations tied to abortion providers, a federal appeals court  ruled Tuesday . The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted a federal judge's temporary injunction that had protected the funding pending an October trial. After Texas banned funds for groups linked to abortion providers, some Planned Parenthood clinics sued, arguing the law violates free speech.

Planned Parenthood has launched a $3-million package of breast health programs designed to identify women at elevated risk of breast cancer, increase access to specialty healthcare for women with apparent breast abnormalities, and expand a breast health educational program aimed at Latinas. The initiative is to be funded with money donated in the wake of the Susan G. Komen Foundation's decision to withdraw its support for the organization -- a step that was reversed after it ignited a firestorm of controversy in February.

Re "Judge extends injunction to halt Mississippi abortion law," July 12 I was thrilled to read The Times' coverage of Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's plan "to try to end abortion in Mississippi. " For those like me who believe that abortion should be safe, accessible and rare, the thought of having every child a wanted child is a goal I never thought this country would reach. I expect that Bryant will spread the word and contact Planned Parenthood to institute programs on preventing unwanted pregnancies.