SALT LAKE CITY — Planned Parenthood of Utah sued the governor Monday for ordering state agencies to cut off federal funding to the organization following the release of secretly recorded videos by an antiabortion group.
Governor Gary Herbert’s action violated the organization’s constitutional rights and was based on unfounded allegations, Planned Parenthood of Utah said in federal court documents.
Hebert blocked funding distributed by the state after a California antiabortion group leaked videos showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide fetal tissue from abortions for medical research.
Herbert said he was deeply troubled by the footage. Planned Parenthood says it’s acted legally and that the tapes were deceptively edited. The organization is barred from using federal or state money for abortions.
The Utah branch says Herbert’s decision is based solely on unproven allegations in other states by other arms of the national group. Planned Parenthood said it’s been a key provider of reproductive health services, such as STD testing, in Utah for decades.
In a separate development, Missouri’s attorney general, Chris Koster, said an investigation found ‘‘no evidence whatsoever’’ that the state’s only surgical abortion facility sells fetal remains.