Dodge City clinic seeks to drop funding challenge

The Dodge City Family Planning Clinic is seeking to withdraw from a lawsuit challenging a state law stripping federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood clinics in Wichita and Hays and an unaffiliated clinic in Dodge City.
   
A joint filing Monday at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals says the parties have entered into an agreement to dismiss the Dodge City clinic from the suit. The clinic closed Dec. 31.
   
The move has no impact on the claims by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.
   
The lawsuit stems from a Kansas law requiring the state to first allocate federal family planning money to public health departments and hospitals, which leaves no funds for specialty clinics.
   
A judge found last year that the statute unconstitutionally bars the plaintiffs from eligibility.