Evizda

In a victory for women’s health advocates, a U.S. appeals court on Tuesday shot down Utah Gov. Gary Herbert’s attempt to block funding for the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate, saying the move was probably a political one meant to punish the group.

Herbert, an anti-choice Republican, directed the Utah Department of Health to withhold the money last August, citing a series of controversial videos released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress (CMP) that allegedly showed national Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue for scientific research. The videos have since been discredited, with multiple state and federal entities clearing Planned Parenthood of illegal acts and one grand jury choosing to instead indict the filmmakers.

As the Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday:

But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, in its ruling, pointed to political motivations behind Herbert’s action, stating: “[W]e conclude that a reasonable finder of fact is more likely than not to find that Herbert, a politician and admitted opponent of abortion, viewed the situation that presented itself by release of the CMP videos as an opportunity to take public action against [Planned Parenthood Association of Utah or PPAU], deprive it of pass-through federal funding, and potentially weaken the organization and hamper its ability to provide and advocate for abortion services.”