Utah Planned Parenthood challenges funding cut

Attorneys for Planned Parenthood of Utah say the organization is being wrongly punished over videos showing employees from another state discussing fetal tissue from abortions.

The lawyers asked a Denver-based federal appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed Gov. Gary Herbert to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood in Utah.

He ordered state agencies to stop distributing federal money for sexually transmitted disease programs and sex education last fall, saying he was offended by the callousness of the discussion shown on the videos.

State attorneys say Herbert had the right to cut the funding because the group had an at-will contract with the state.

Judges on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked pointed questions during a 30-minute hearing. They didn’t indicate when they would rule.