COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A federal judge blocked a state law aimed at diverting public money from Planned Parenthood, saying in a Friday ruling that the group stood to suffer “irreparable injury.”
The Ohio law targets the more than $1.4 million in funding that Planned Parenthood gets through the state’s health department. That money, mostly from the federal government, supports certain education and prevention programs. The law would bar such funds from going to entities that perform or promote abortions.
The restrictions, which had been slated to take effect in May, were signed by Republican Gov. John Kasich during his failed presidential bid.
The state’s Republican attorney general will appeal the ruling, his spokesman said.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region had sued the state, saying the law violated their constitutional rights by denying them the funds “in retaliation for” providing abortions. Their lawsuit names the state’s health director as a defendant.