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A fight between Planned Parenthood and Gov. Rick Scott's administration escalated on Wednesday, with state health officials saying three clinics can continue to operate but remain under investigation for allegedly performing illegal second-trimester abortions. Amid news reports that the Agency for Health Care Administration had backed down after being sued by the clinics, the agency released a letter from its top lawyer saying that the clinics were still under investigation and had broken the law. (Kam, 8/20)

Planned Parenthood Gulf States is keeping its options open when it comes to filing a lawsuit against Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration, which has said the health care provider will lose its Medicaid funding on Sept. 2. ... The rally Thursday was held as Jindal administration staff blasted audio from a controversial video over speakers pointed toward the rally. The videos were also projected onto a screen, but were difficult to see in sunlight. (Litten, 8/21)

Attorney General Alan Wilson's office is looking into Medicaid payments to South Carolina's three abortion clinics to determine whether any fraud occurred, according to letters provided Thursday to The Associated Press. Wilson becomes the latest Republican to pursue investigations into abortion clinics following the release of videos — secretly taped by an anti-abortion group — that show Planned Parenthood officials elsewhere discussing the collection of fetal organs for research. (Adcox, 8/20)