Friends,
Amidst the unexpected events of the last two weeks – including a leak at the Supreme Court and the firebombing of our friends in Wisconsin – I wanted to share some of the other work that your support is allowing us to do behind the scenes.
This week, Family Policy Alliance joined our ally, Independence Law Center, and 32 other state organizations in our alliance in sending a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court! We’re asking the Court to let states decide whether to cover abortion providers under their state Medicaid programs.
We filed the friend-of-the-court brief in a case known as Kerr v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The case came out of South Carolina, where the state Medicaid program doesn’t consider abortion providers to be “qualified” providers for Medicaid recipients. The regional Planned Parenthood and a Medicaid recipient sued for Medicaid to cover her birth control at a Planned Parenthood facility.
But as our CEO Craig DeRoche said in a statement we put out yesterday, “Here’s what this case is about: Planned Parenthood wants to force taxpayers to fund their abortion business, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. But states should be able to tell Planned Parenthood ‘no,’ just as they should be able to say no to abortion itself. This case is about states’ rights under the Medicaid statute to make those critical decisions.”
With the very real possibility of a Roe overturn, state policy on abortion matters more than ever – and we’re honored to host an alliance of 40 state Family Policy Councils who are already on the ground standing for life. In fact, it was that alliance we partnered with in submitting this brief. Independence Law Center (the legal arm of Pennsylvania Family Council) led the effort, and we were grateful to be a part of it. Here’s what their Chief Counsel, Randy Wenger, had to say:
“States are permitted to decide what providers are qualified under Medicaid. If states like South Carolina want to use limited resources to promote holistic healthcare rather than providers that are focused only on abortion and related services, they should be free to do so. That’s the best way to provide high quality healthcare to the women of our states.”
You can read our full release and access the brief here.
Thank you for joining us as we continue to stand for life!
Meridian Baldacci
Director of Strategy
P.S. Of course, this isn’t the only abortion-related case facing the Supreme Court. The country is waiting with bated breath for a final decision from the Court in the Dobbs case (which challenged Roe v. Wade). Already, we’re preparing for the possibility of a world After Roe. To make sure you are in the loop on the latest, be sure to follow us on your favorite social media platform. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!