A lawsuit first brought up by Ken Paxton, Texas' suspended attorney general, is seeking to force Planned Parenthood to cough up over $1 billion in Medicaid payments and fines.
The case was argued by the attorney general's office, now headed by Angela Colmenero, in federal court Tuesday. If it's successful, the suit could deal a heavy blow to the group and force the closure of its Texas affiliates.
"This is a political charge to try to bankrupt health care in the state of Texas," Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., told reporters last month.
Paxton's suit alleges Planned Parenthood engaged in Medicaid fraud when it continued to bill the state for health services while it was battling Texas over its ability to access the state's Medicaid funds.
A March 2021 ruling, The Texas Tribune reported, allows the group to be kicked off after a prolonged legal battle spanning several years.
The state is now seeking, under the federal False Claims Act, around $17 million in Medicaid payments and over $1 billion in additional penalties and punitive damages from Planned Parenthood during that period.
It's being overheard by Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the District Court in Northern Texas, who earlier this year tried to stop the Food and Drug Administration from approving the abortion pill.
"Women who have aborted a child ... often experience shame, regret, anxiety, depression, drug abuse and suicidal thoughts because of the abortion," Kacsmaryk wrote in his preliminary ruling on mifepristone at the time.
Dr. Amna Dermish, the chief operating and medical services officer at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, warned that Kacsmaryk presiding over the case could spell the end for the group's three Texas chapters.
"We have a high uninsured and underinsured rate in Texas," Dermish said. "We have an epidemic of syphilis. We have no access to prenatal care. I don't see anybody rushing to fill that void," Dermish told The Tribune.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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