A federal appeals court has upheld Texas’ effort to defund Planned Parenthood and exclude it from a government-funded health program for low-income women simply because they also provide abortions. The decision on Tuesday reverses a lower court ruling that temporarily blocked the ban. The Texas program offers cancer and health screenings as well as birth control services to some 130,000 low-income women, about 40 percent of whom are served through Planned Parenthood. In a court filing defending the ban earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott had compared Planned Parenthood to a terrorist organization, writing: “[The] First Amendment does not prohibit application of federal material-support statute to individuals who give money to 'humanitarian' activities performed by terrorist organizations.” In a statement, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said: “[This case] has never been about Planned Parenthood — it’s about the women who rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, birth control and well-woman exams. It is shocking that politics would get in the way of women receiving access to basic healthcare.”