DOJ Lends Support to Planned Parenthood Lawsuit in AZ

The Grand Canyon State is once again positioned at the center of the battle between federal and state powers. This time, Arizona has become the unlikely battleground for the Culture of Life to go head-to-head with the dystopia of death abortion offers.

PHOENIX, AZ (Catholic Online) - In May, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the Whole Woman's Health Funding Priority Act (H.B. 2800), aimed at preventing the flow of taxpayer dollars to organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, that offer abortion procedures in the Grand Canyon State. In retaliation, Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit claiming that the state law is in violation of federal law, with regards to the money secured by the state for Medicaid. Currently, the law has been challenged in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
 
This month, the U.S. Department of Justice resurrected the Obama administration's war on the unborn by issuing a brief in support of the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, just in time for election day.
 
H.B. 2800 was co-authored by the Susan B. Anthony List and the Alliance Defending Freedom. While the Arizona law is a plus for the pro-life movement, the bill did not forbid providing money to Planned Parenthood and other similar businesses - the bill did not forbid state-funded abortions. The law does, however, ensure that state money for healthcare goes to medical centers that offer a type of "whole" person care and are not limited to offering only certain types of health-related services. As Governor Brewer explained at its passing, the law "closes loopholes in order to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used to fund abortions".
 
With all the news about President Obama falsely stating that Planned Parenthood offers mammograms, it is obvious that this desperate, "We're only down by one run" move by the DOJ is focused not on the health and well-being of women but on the promotion of the abortion and contraception movement, of which the Obama White House has successfully fixed itself as the guiding North Star.
 
Planned Parenthood does contribute financially to Obama's 2012 campaign. Planned Parenthood's president Cecile Richards herself has campaigned on behalf of President Obama. How could it be anything but natural for the current administration to fight for Planned Parenthood in the state most frequently known for challenging the Obama party? Odds are that the Department of Justice probably jumped at the chance to enter another round with Arizona.
 
Arizona Solicitor General David Cole is fighting the battle at the state's capitol, insisting that it is within a state's designated power to demand "meaningful provider qualifications" for the distribution of the healthcare money in question. Planned Parenthood, he believes, can be denied funds under that requirement.
 
"Arizona taxpayers have spoken through their elected representatives:  they do not want their tax dollars going to abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood," said the president of Susan B. Anthony List, Marjorie Dannenfelser. "The Whole Woman's Health Funding Priority Act is pro-woman legislation that recognizes that women deserve access to comprehensive health care, not abortion. Abortion is not health care."
 
Right before an election, pro-lifers across America have to be the most vigilant. While the national focus is on a presidential 'roast', tireless leaders in the pro-life army have undoubtedly toiled away, night and day, in a rush to divert the bulldozing abortion agenda, being directed this time by our own Department of Justice.
 
The Mayans seemed to miscalculate the "day of reckoning" by a handful of days when they slated it for December 2012. One can't help but be overcome by a simmering suspicion that they must have meant election day.

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