It’s been a year of victories for Planned Parenthood and anybody who believes in reproductive rights. This week brought two additional ones.
On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, reinforced a July ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals by barring Republican Utah Gov. Gary Herbert from denying funding to Planned Parenthood for its advocacy of legal abortion. Herbert had ignored the appeals court’s decision.
Planned Parenthood sued in 2015 after Herbert had cut the group’s funding when taped interviews purported to show it was engaged in making a profit off illegally selling fetal tissue from abortions.
In a mealy-mouthed bit of reporting Wednesday, the Salt Lake Tribune wrote that “The videos did not include Utah clinics and were later determined to be inaccurate and misleading ...” Uh, try “intentionally altered to show activity that never happened” instead.
The videos originally sparked fury among politicians (including some prominent Democrats who should have known better) as well as celebrations by forced birthers who figured they’d found a nail for Planned Parenthood’s coffin. But investigations by several states and the media have shown that the claims of tissue sales do not stand up to even modest scrutiny.
The 10th Circuit Court ruled that it likely could be shown that Herbert's decision was made for political reasons in violation of constitutional protections for speech and association. [...]
[Judge Benson’s order does not require the state to continue to contract with Planned Parenthood, but says any decision to cut off funding or not renew a contract requires a statement in writing stating legitimate reasons for doing so.
"Such a basis cannot include unproven allegations against the national Planned Parenthood organization or its affiliates or the plaintiff's provision of or advocacy for legal abortion," the order states.
And then there is Wisconsin.