COLUMBUS — Lawmakers removed a proposal to enact a priority funding system for federal family planning dollars that would have essentially stopped funding Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio.

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled House Finance and Appropriations Committee pulled an amendment to Gov. John Kasich’s mid-biennium budget review inserted last week that would have placed Planned Parenthood at the end of the line to receive federal funding.

The amendment quickly became the biggest talking point of the more than 2,000-page bill, but lawmakers had little to say about it Tuesday.

The priority system was one of 26 amendments bundled into one that passed without opposition and without discussion.

Committee chairman Rep. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, said the language mirrored that of House Bill 298, which is being worked in the House Health and Aging Committee.

About $1.6 million of the $4.3 million in federal family-planning money the state received last year went to Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio, according to the Ohio Health Department. That money pays for sexually transmitted disease tests, pregnancy tests and cancer screenings among other health services.

Federal law prohibits using the money for abortions, which are performed at three of Ohio’s 37 Planned Parenthood centers. Ohio Planned Parenthood officials said the procedure accounts for about 4 percent of more than 100,000 patients served each year.

Gary Dougherty, state legislative director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio, said they’ll continue to fight.

“What’s important right now is that the language is out of the bill and we make sure it stays out,” Dougherty said. Ohio Right to Life strongly supported the measure, saying the centers’ clients can go to the one of nearly 300 health districts or community health centers to receive family planning services and comprehensive care.

Mike Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life, said he was unaware of the reason behind lawmakers’ decision but it doesn’t mean lawmakers don’t support pro-life issues. He said his organization will push for House Bill 298.

“If they don’t want to use the (mid-biennium review) as a vehicle, we already have a bill introduced,” Gonidakis said. “Let’s move it, let’s get it to the Senate, let’s fully vet it, let’s let everyone weigh in and let them put it to a vote.”

Gonidakis said the bill differs from how Texas cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood. The federal government refused funding to Texas after state officials excluded Planned Parenthood from its women’s health program.

Eight Planned Parenthood centers that do not provide abortion services sued the state of Texas with the claim the rule violates their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and association because they were blocked from funding despite not providing the blocked services