The full Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a prior ruling by a three-judge panel and has upheld the constitutionality of an Ohio law that blocks nearly $1.5 million that Planned Parenthood received from the state health department and federal government.
In an 11-6 vote, the appeals court overturned a lower court injunction against the law, which was signed in 2016 by then Governor John Kasich. A three-judge panel of the appeals court had upheld the injunction last April 18.
The law requires the state health department to ensure that funds it receives through six non-abortion-related federal programs are not used to fund entities that perform abortions.
“The affiliates are correct that the Ohio law imposes a condition on the continued receipt of state funds,” Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the majority. “But that condition does not violate the Constitution because the affiliates do not have a due process right to perform abortions.”
Judge Sutton also found no proof the ban posed an undue burden on a woman’s right to abortion by making the procedure harder to obtain. He also said that the right belonged to women, not Planned Parenthood.
“We celebrate that the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Ohio law that blocks nearly $1.5 million in taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “Planned Parenthood does not have a constitutional right to receive taxpayer funds for abortions and the state of Ohio should withhold all public funding. Not one penny of taxpayer dollars should ever go to fund the killing of innocent children,” said Staver.
