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A federal appeals court has ruled against an Arizona law that disqualified Planned Parenthood and other health providers that perform abortions from receiving public funds for other medical services.
Supporters of the law said it would ensure that no public money subsidizes abortion and argued that the state had broad power to determine that Planned Parenthood and other providers of abortion services were not qualified Medicaid providers.
However, Thursday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with U.S. District Judge Neil Wake that Arizona's law violated federal Medicaid law by not allowing patients to freely choose a qualified medical provider.
Opponents, including Planned Parenthood, said it would disrupt care for people who need other services such as cancer screenings.
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