Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit three-judge panel ruled last week that a lower court erred when it issued an injunction against the state’s law barring abortion clinics from receiving taxpayers’ money.
Governor Greg Abbott signed a measure into law in 2016 that blocks funding to abortion providers through Medicaid. The state already requires a woman to have an ultrasound (and see the image) before the abortionist kills her unborn baby. The state also requires unmarried minors to have written parental permission before abortions.
The case returns to the lower court, which used the wrong standard of review when it issued the injunction against the law. It remains to be seen whether the court will drop the injunction or keep it in place. For now, the law is in effect.
From the Washington Times:
Texas made the move in 2016, booting Planned Parenthood off its list of approved Medicaid providers after some Planned Parenthood officials were caught on undercover videos taken by pro-life activists negotiating over the sale of tissue from aborted fetuses.
“The 5th Circuit’s ruling shows that the district court applied the wrong legal standard,” said Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general. “Planned Parenthood’s reprehensible conduct, captured in undercover videos, proves that it is not a ‘qualified’ provider under the Medicaid Act, so we are confident we will ultimately prevail.”
The legal fight has arisen in other states as well.
The defund-Planned Parenthood movement kicked into high gear after a pro-life group began releasing secretly recorded videos in 2015 that showed Planned Parenthood and tissue company employees discussing the sale and harvesting of aborted-baby body parts.
Photo credit: American Life League (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved
