In October of 2011, Shelby County commission in Tennessee attempted to de-fund Planned Parenthood through the backdoor, by shifting Title X family planning funds from PP to Christ Community Health Services, a religious health care provider that made it clear that they would not refer for abortions or provide any form of emergency contraception, and that your birth control may come with a lecture on getting right with God.

Unsurprisingly, fewer patients were being seen as a result of the action. Now those women will once again have access to family planning services without a religious sermon thanks to a new federal grant of nearly $400,000 per year for the next three years.

Tennessee Congressman Steven Cohen announced today that Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region (PPGMR) has received $395,000 for Title X family planning services from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Grants Management.

“Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region has been helping Memphis and Shelby County residents get the health care they need to lead happier, healthier lives for years,” Cohen, D-Memphis, said in a release. “These new federal funds will help ensure the Title X Family Planning Program reaches those who need help the most in underserved communities.”

The Planned Parenthood affiliate, which operates one health care center in Memphis, is grateful for the chance to once more work again with the poor and uninsured in the area.

“This grant award means that Planned Parenthood will be able to resume providing essential health care services to the low income women and teens who depend us every day to help them plan their families,” said PPGMR CEO Barry Chase in an email statement.  “It means our patients who qualify will be able to get the confidential, unbiased care they need from the provider they prefer and trust.”

The $395,000 per year will cover birth control and related health care, annual well-woman exams and cancer screenings and STD testing, according to Chase.