Judge Overrules Arizona Voters

FreeVerse Photography / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

A federal judge this week issued a ruling overturning an Arizona law that prioritized Medicaid funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

Judge Neil Wake wrote, “A state may not restrict a beneficiary’s right to select any qualified provider for reasons wholly unrelated to the provider’s ability to deliver Medicaid services.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List said the ruling, “thwarts the will of Arizona taxpayers to stop funding big abortion businesses such as Planned Parenthood. As a result, funds will be reduced for agencies that provide whole women’s health care.”

Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom, which co-authored the legislation, helped the state defend the law. The state is expected to appeal this latest ruling.