Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers decided to send state tax dollars for low-income women's health services to providers that do not offer abortions. As one attorney tells OneNewsNow, Planned Parenthood continues to lose.
Jonathan Saenz of Texas Values explains that Planned Parenthood filed suit and lost time and again. He notes this "tremendous ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals -- a federal court decision denying another attempt by Planned Parenthood to keep their hands in the taxpayers' pocket. The court said that Texas can cut off tax dollars to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers."
Saenz believes the Fifth Circuit's ruling aligns with the public perception in Texas -- that life matters.
"We have known for a long time, and other people have as well, that Planned Parenthood is radioactive," the attorney notes. "This decision only confirms the widely held view among Texans and people across the country that Planned Parenthood is not entitled to our taxpayer money."
When Texas decided to allocate the funds to health providers instead of Planned Parenthood, the Obama administration announced it would strip the state of federal funds. Texas responded by funding the health program itself.
In contrast to this ruling, a federal appeals court this week declared Indiana's similar defunding bill unconstitutional. The attorney general is being encouraged to appeal to the Supreme Court.