We're Not In Kansas Anymore, Folks, Part 3

As expected, a federal judge has struck down the Kansas law barring all funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Marten ruled that the funding should be provided to Planned Parenthood on a quarterly basis, not the monthly allocation sought by the state.

Planned Parenthood had threatened to close its Hays, Kan., clinic on Friday unless it learned by then that its federal family planning funds would start flowing again.

Earlier this year, the Kansas Legislature stripped Planned Parenthood of about $330,000 in the 2011-12 budget and redirected that money primarily to public health departments.

Planned Parenthood sued, and on Aug. 1, Marten temporarily blocked Kansas from enforcing the new budget provision. However, the state had not released the money.

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.

The state had asked the judge whether it would suffice to pay Planned Parenthood monthly while the case is on appeal. Planned Parenthood wanted to be paid quarterly.

Judge Marten apparently disagrees with Kansas, and good for him.  Perhaps if Kansas Republicans hadn't flat out said the goal was to put Planned Parenthood out of business, they might not have run afoul of the judicial.