A federal judge says Arkansas must continue paying for a portion of its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood while she weighs a lawsuit challenging a decision to cut off money because of secretly recorded videos made by an anti-abortion group.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker on Friday issued a preliminary injunction that said the state must continue to pay for benefits for three unidentified women who sued the state. Baker last month had reinstated the Medicaid contract for all Planned Parenthood funding for two weeks.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson terminated the contract in August over the videos. Planned Parenthood subsequently sued.
The state says Planned Parenthood received more than $51,000 in Medicaid payments in Arkansas over the past year for family planning and gynecological services. No money went toward abortions.
