Judge puts early hold on rule keeping tax funds from the abortion industry

A federal judge ordered a preliminary injunction on the newly reauthorized Women’s Health Program that was slated to begin tomorrow. The judge ordered the parties to meet and confer on various points of the lawsuit and set a status update for May 18th.

The rule in question restricts abortion providers and affiliates from participation in the Women’s Health Program, a family program that serves low income clients. All nine of the Texas state Planned Parenthood affiliates jointly filed the lawsuit on April 11th with the goal of keeping taxpayer funding of 49 of their family planning clinics in Texas.

Though this injunction may seem to be a victory for the abortion giant, Governor Perry and Texas Attorney General Abbott have emphasized that the state would shut down the program, if necessary, to protect tax payers from subsidizing the abortion industry. If the program is implemented according to legislative intent, then clients served by the program will be able to find health care at agencies that provide a full spectrum of health care services, and not abortion and family planning. The Legislature was clear in its goal when reauthorizing the WHP: Commit abortion and lose public funding.

Judge Lee Yeakel’s order addressed claims by the state that the federal court did not have jurisdiction in this case since funds for the program were solely state funds. However, the judge interpreted the equal protection complaint as having a constitutional basis in violating the constitutional rights of Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion chain.

Yeakel stated that Planned Parenthood’s equal protection argument was particularly strong because of the fact that hospitals were exempt from the anti-affiliate provision, revealing the likely motive of the state to discriminate against the plaintiffs.

Furthermore, Judge Yeakel claimed that the Preliminary Injunction was warranted because of the possible harm the rule would do to the plaintiffs if enforced. In earlier court filings, Planned Parenthood admitted the main objection to the Pro-Life restriction in the new WHP rules because that restriction would require staff terminations, operating hours reduction, and possible clinic closures.

If these claims are true, Planned Parenthood is proving the point that they are not a legitimate health care organization, for they cannot stand without government funding. They are not willing to change their unrelenting abortion advocacy agenda in order to serve low income women. If Planned Parenthood really cared about women and health care, abortion would not be part of its profiteering and exploitation of women.

In conclusion, the federal judge stated that the Preliminary Injunction is intended to foster a full conversation about the legal standing of the Pro-Life rule and that “[A]lthough this court expresses skepticism as to the viability of the Women's Health Program and holds that Plaintiffs are entitled to their requested interlocutory relief, the court does not today determine the ultimate outcome of this dispute.”

TexasRightToLife.com will feature up to date developments on the WHP lawsuit.