Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
A federal appeals court has upheld the current administration’s decision to again allow federal funding to go to institutions that provide and promote abortions.
Decision Magazine reported that President Joe Biden rolled back the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding to any organization involved in the abortion industry under Title X, Section 1008, which states that “none of the funds … shall be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, joined by 11 other state attorneys, filed suit against the Biden administration over the change; however, the panel of judges on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant their injunction on the grounds that “the states have not demonstrated that they will be irreparably harmed without the injunction.”
According to AP News, the states were aggressive in their push to stop the federal grants which are being sent out in March. However, the court’s decision means that regardless of future appeals, abortion and other abortion-oriented family planning clinics will still receive those funds.
In his argument, Yost stated that the rules, such as those cited in Title X, were put into place to create a sort of firewall between family planning clinics and their ability to receive taxpayer dollars to support abortion services.
A similar argument was made by Yost when he wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in May of last year, asking the secretary not to allow the Title X funding to go toward those entities that provide elective abortions.
HHS disregarded Yost’s argument and issued their decision in October of last year, saying that the funding, which was previously ended in 2019, would move forward again, streaming from the taxpayer to clinics like Planned Parenthood.
“Planned Parenthood is a $1.6 billion abortion business that kills over 350,000 babies a year. It doesn’t need one cent of our tax money,” tweeted LifeNews.com following the ruling.
Planned Parenthood is a $1.6 billion abortion business that kills over 350,000 babies a year.
It doesn't need one cent of our tax money.
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) February 8, 2022
U.S. District Judge Timothy Black was part of the panel that rejected Yost’s argument, saying that there was inadequate evidence to support the idea that the injunction would save the states making the appeal from irreparable harm.
“The principle that money is fungible must have theoretical limits or else no government appropriations for specific purposes could ever be feasible,” Black wrote Dec. 29. “Title X no more subsidizes abortions than funding a homeless shelter subsidizes substance abuse.”
However, the American people appear to hold a different opinion, with a Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll revealing that the majority of Americans (54%) oppose taxpayer funding of abortions, and 81% of Americans believe laws can protect both the mother and her unborn child.
“When it comes to the direction of government policy, there has been consistency and consensus in American public opinion on the issue of abortion over the decades,” explained Dr. Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll.
“As we await a decision in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, our polling continues to show that over 60% of Americans reject the central holding of Roe v. Wade and want to return the decision to the states or make abortion illegal,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, a leader in the Catholic organization. “Roe v. Wade was wrong when it was decided, and its legacy is the tragic destruction of more than 60 million unborn lives and countless wounded women. The time has come for America to turn the page on Roe.”
“Our polling also shows that Americans oppose policies that divert tax dollars to pay for abortion here and abroad. This is especially relevant as the bipartisan [sic] Hyde Amendment prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion is in danger,” added Kelly.