This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A federal judge is recusing himself from the court battle between the state of Utah and its Planned Parenthood branch after an appeals court overturned his unusual ruling that allowed the governor to defund the organization.
Court records filed Wednesday show U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups will be replaced by Judge Dee Benson. No reason is given for the recusal.
It comes after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decided the governor's defunding move was likely politically motivated and unconstitutional.
Their decision reversed Waddoups' ruling allowing the state to cut off the money to avoid any appearance of corruption, a finding that ran counter to others nationally.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert halted funding for STD and sex education programs after the release of secretly recorded videos showing out-of-state employees discussing fetal tissue from abortions.