Radio Recap: Strike 3 for Planned Parenthood at the 9th Circuit

By 

Jordan Sekulow

|
August 19, 2019

4 min read

Pro Life

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Planned Parenthood strikes out. As of today, Planned Parenthood no longer qualifies for Title X funds – a 60 million dollar loss.

Today on the broadcast, we discussed Planned Parenthood’s losses before 9th Circuit, how the 9th Circuit has changed from being a major ally to the abortion industry, and exactly what Planned Parenthood is all about.

Planned Parenthood has now lost three straight times at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in its attempts to block the new HHS Title X rule from defunding it of millions. On Friday the 9th Circuit Court denied its request for a full en banc (review by the full 29-seat 9th Circuit) reconsideration of the Title X cases. 

Planned Parenthood’s only real business is abortion. They don’t care about women’s health. They don’t care about family planning. They only care about abortion. They’ve had the opportunity to become compliant with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rules by dropping abortion from its business.

As we’ve noted before, HHS allowed an appropriate timeline for organizations to make necessary operational changes, and prove they are making significant steps toward complying and no longer utilizing Title X monies in a way that subsidizes their abortion business.

HHS has set forth a timeline for compliance and reporting requirements to maintain – or lose – eligibility for Title X funds:

In the past, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs (OPA), has exercised enforcement discretion in appropriate circumstances and taken into consideration the time needed for policies to be amended or updated and approved by boards, and for training of personnel in its 4,000 sites on such new or revised policies.

OPA is committed to work with grantees to assist them in coming into compliance with the requirements of the Final Rule.

Given the current circumstances surrounding the implementation of the Final Rule, OPA does not intend to bring enforcement actions against Title X recipients that are making, and continue to make, good faith efforts to comply with the Final Rule. To show good faith efforts to comply with the Title X Final Rule, OPA expects the following from grantees:

  • Assurance and Action Plan Documenting Steps to Come Into Compliance – Due by August 19, 2019
  • Statement and Supporting Evidence with Compliance Requirements – Due by September 18, 2019
  • Statement and Supporting Evidence for Physical Separation between Title X Services and Abortion Services – Due by March 4, 2020.

Instead of becoming compliant by ceasing abortions, Planned Parenthood has announced that they will not seek the funds any more, revealing the truth that abortion is all they care about.

This is a key moment for the pro-life cause. The lie that Planned Parenthood is more than just an abortion factory has been destroyed. Moreover, once an enemy of the Pro-Life cause, it seems like the 9th Circuit is clearly moving in the right direction. The Executive Branch has also clearly been making efforts to protect life via rules like the ones we’re discussing and judicial nominations.

While Planned Parenthood will likely continue its abortion distortion that this will be a loss for women’s health, the truth as our own Senior Counsel CeCe Heil said on the show, is that with the abortion giant no longer receiving those tax dollars, as many as  3,000 Pro-Life women’s health centers may now have access to more funding.

This is also a victory for the ACLJ, which we could not have achieved without you. As we’ve told you, the ACLJ submitted  legal comments in support of the HHS Title X Rule. And you, the ACLJ members, submitted over 13,000 individual comments – over 10% of the total comments HHS received. Our voices were heard.

Finally, the law is being applied as written and because of you, 60 million dollars has been cut from Planned Parenthood. Tomorrow, we’re filing in a case to protect the conscience rights of pro-life doctors and nurses from being forced to participate in abortions.

You can listen to the full episode here.