Kansas defunds Planned Parenthood

The Kansas state legislature passed a budget late Thursday night that strips state funding for Planned Parenthood.

The new budget strips about $334,000 in federal Title X funding for the organization, according to Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. The nation's largest abortion provider is a lightning rod for religious conservatives, but it argues that eliminating government support for family planning and prevention will only hurt poor women.

"It is outrageous that Gov. [Sam] Brownback will sign a budget bill that will undermine women's health and deny Planned Parenthood from providing preventive health care through the Title X program," President and CEO Peter Brownlie said in a statement. "Thousands of Kansans are now at risk of losing access to basic, preventive health care."

The organization, he added, is "seriously considering all options — including litigation" to overturn the decision. Planned Parenthood has already sued Indiana after that state passed legislation stripping it of Title X funding; the next court date to seek injunctive relief is June 6.

The House of Representatives has passed similar legislation, but it died in the Senate. Similar efforts are also under way in state legislatures in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.