WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood stopped providing abortion services in Texas last year, but its officials say state leaders are still targeting the organization. A conservative federal judge will rule on a Republican-led effort to seek millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood of Texas, and a legal defeat could force it to shut down in the state.

What You Need To Know

  • Planned Parenthood stopped providing abortion services in Texas last year, but its officials say state leaders are still targeting the organization

  • A conservative federal judge will rule on a Republican-led effort to seek millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood of Texas, and a legal defeat could force it to shut down in the state

  • An extraordinary lawsuit could force the organization to halt the rest of its services in the state

  • The state is seeking repayment for money it provided to Planned Parenthood

Wendy Davis made national headlines as a Texas state senator 10 years ago with a filibuster against an anti-abortion bill. Davis is no longer an elected official, but she remains a fierce advocate for an organization that she says meant a lot to her as a young woman — Planned Parenthood. 

“Planned Parenthood was the only source of health care that I had for several years, because I didn’t have any insurance in the state of Texas. Because we have the highest rate and the highest number of uninsured people in the state, many people rely on Planned Parenthood as the only source of health care that they have,” Davis, a senior adviser for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, told Spectrum News.

“The vast amount of work that they do is not abortion. [Planned Parenthood] provides lifesaving cancer screens, diabetes screens, sexually transmitted infection screens, and so much more,” Davis said.

Texas banned most abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last summer. So Planned Parenthood stopped providing abortion services in Texas. But an extraordinary lawsuit could force the organization to halt the rest of its services in the state. 

Acting under a federal law related to health care fraud, the State is seeking to recoup millions of dollars Planned Parenthood received through Medicaid. Those reimbursements had nothing to do with abortion. A legislative provision bars the use of federal funds to cover abortion services.

“This is not a typical case of a False Claims Act,” said Seema Mohapatra, a health law professor at Southern Methodist University. “Things that would include… not providing the care that you said you’re going to provide or exaggerating the amount of care that you’ve provided or, you know, falsifying that kind of care.”

The state removed Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program in 2021, ending a four-year fight.

Now the state is seeking repayment for money it provided to Planned Parenthood while that battle played out.

Attorney General Ken Paxton argued the organization committed fraud. In a statement when the lawsuit was first introduced, Paxton said, “It is unthinkable that Planned Parenthood would continue to take advantage of funding knowing they were not entitled to keep it.”

Mohapatra said she believes Texas’ take on the law is not clear.

“The attorney general is trying to go after payments that the federal government paid Planned Parenthood before Planned Parenthood was ousted from Texas,” she said. “Texas’ case seems very weak and seems more like in terms of trying to get political points.” 

Planned Parenthood says there was an injunction in place that allowed it to get Medicaid reimbursements. The group’s officials said if Texas is successful, the total reimbursements, fees and penalties could exceed one billion dollars. 

“Even though Planned Parenthood is not providing abortions in the state of Texas, we continue to be subject to the fact that politicians want to use Planned Parenthood and attacks on Planned Parenthood to try to further their own political careers,” Davis said. “The real shame in that is, there are human beings, real people who rely on the services of Planned Parenthood.”

The lawsuit is before U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo. Kacsmaryk, in a separate case earlier this year, made the unprecedented ruling to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. It is not clear when he will rule in the Planned Parenthood case.