April 18 (UPI) -- A three-judge panel in a federal appeals court said Wednesday that Ohio's defunding of Planned Parenthood is unconstitutional.
It unanimously upheld a lower court decision that Republican Gov. John Kasich and GOP lawmakers, who are supportive of abortion restrictions, acted unconstitutionally to end $1.5 million in annual state funding for Planned Parenthood. The decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, bans the Ohio Department of Health from enforcing the law denying funding to the organization.