This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has agreed not to defund the state's Planned Parenthood group, according to an injunction filed in U.S. District Court on Friday.
The decision settles a legal dispute between Herbert and the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah that began in August 2015, when Herbert issued an order to strip hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funding from the group. The move came after a series of videos were released that claimed to show the national group was illegally selling fetal tissue. Herbert declined to reverse his decision even after the videos did not include Utah clinics and were found to be inaccurate and misleading.
Friday's injunction states that Herbert and Utah Department of Health Director Joseph Miner — and their successors — are "permanently enjoined from defunding and denying funding to" the organization "on impermissible constitutional grounds."
The organization has the right to advocate for and provide legal abortions for clients as well as associate with other organizations that advocate for legal abortions, such as the national Planned Parenthood, the injunction says.
The agreement does not require Herbert and Miner to continue contracts, renew contracts or issue new contracts to organization, the injunction says, but if the state defunds, declines to renew contracts or does not issue a contract to Planned Parenthood, it must provide the organization "a legitimate basis for doing so" within 30 days of the effective date.
Neither "unproven allegations" against the national Planned Parenthood organization, or its affiliates, nor the organization's provision of or advocacy for legal abortion will qualify as a "legitimate basis" for such decisions, the injunction says.
In July, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction in favor of Planned Parenthood, reversing a lower-court ruling and maintaining the flow of federal funds to the reproductive-health organization. In September, a federal judge prohibited Herbert from cutting Planned Parenthood Association of Utah's funding.
On April 13, President Donald Trump signed legislation that allows states to withhold federal family planning money from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
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