{"id":1520,"date":"2011-11-07T11:52:40","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T16:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=1520"},"modified":"2011-11-29T15:15:13","modified_gmt":"2011-11-29T20:15:13","slug":"jay-sekulow-challenging-planned-parenthood-in-court-again-%e2%80%93-this-time-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/11\/jay-sekulow-challenging-planned-parenthood-in-court-again-%e2%80%93-this-time-in-texas.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: Challenging Planned Parenthood in Court Again \u2013 This Time in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There\u2019s another important case against Planned Parenthood that I want to share with you. We have filed a federal lawsuit representing Karen Reynolds, a former Health Center Assistant at the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), in Lufkin, Texas.<\/p>\n

This is another whistleblower case. And, once again \u2013 Planned Parenthood (PP) faces serious charges involving fraud \u2013 overbilling \u2013 the misuse of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n

According to our complaint, during her decade-long employment at this clinic, Reynolds learned that PPGC knowingly engaged in continued violations of both federal and state law by adopting and implementing company-wide billing policies intended to maximize revenue received from government health care programs (such as Medicaid and Title XX) by expressly requiring PPGC\u2019s clinics in Texas and Louisiana to bill the federal and state governments for reimbursement for (i) medical services that were never actually rendered; (ii) medical services that, although rendered, were known by Defendant to be medically unnecessary; and (iii) abortion-related services that PPGC knew were not properly reimbursable through these government programs.<\/p>\n

The federal lawsuit is posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our legal action further alleges that Planned Parenthood\u2019s company-wide policies required employees to create false information in medical records, usually days after the patient had already come and gone from the clinic, to make it appear that services were rendered when they were not. This information in patient records would have been necessary for PPGC to support its claims for reimbursement for those services and to pass government quality assurance audits, a prerequisite for continued participation in government programs such as Medicaid and Title XX.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I have assembled a legal team that is working on this case. We anticipate that Planned Parenthood will file a motion to dismiss this complaint. We\u2019re already working on our response to that likely filing and are moving forward with discovery in this critical case.<\/p>\n

As you may recall, this Texas case \u2013 which is now starting to receive some media attention<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 comes on the heels of our ongoing lengthy legal battle against Planned Parenthood in another whistleblower case in California.<\/p>\n

In that case,\u00a0we represent the former Chief Financial Officer of PP’s Los Angeles affiliate<\/a>, who discovered a statewide scheme of PP affiliates dramatically marking up claims for taxpayer reimbursement. The complaint charges PP with bilking the state and federal governments of some $100 million.<\/p>\n

These court challenges come as Congress is intensifying its scrutiny of Planned Parenthood<\/a> and how it spends taxpayer funds.<\/p>\n

Further, many states are pursuing legislation to de-fund Planned Parenthood. We represent members of Congress and thousands of Americans in an amicus brief asking a federal appeals court to uphold the constitutionality of a new law passed by Indiana.<\/a> That measure prohibits the distribution of federal Medicaid funds it receives to organizations like Planned Parenthood that perform abortions.<\/p>\n

Whether it is in court, in Congress or in state legislatures, we\u2019re committed to defending life \u2013 and that means aggressively challenging Planned Parenthood \u2013 the nation\u2019s largest abortion provider.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s another important case against Planned Parenthood that I want to share with you. We have filed a federal lawsuit representing Karen Reynolds, a former Health Center Assistant at the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), in Lufkin, Texas. This is another whistleblower case. And, once again \u2013 Planned Parenthood (PP) faces serious charges involving fraud…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,4,31],"tags":[750,743,57,98,393,791,751,450,32,394],"class_list":["post-1520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-justice","category-planned-parenthood","tag-abortion","tag-aclj","tag-california","tag-federal-court","tag-fraud-case","tag-jay-sekulow","tag-planned-parenthood","tag-taxpayer-funding","tag-texas","tag-whistleblower"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: Challenging Planned Parenthood in Court Again \u2013 This Time in Texas - Faith & Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/11\/jay-sekulow-challenging-planned-parenthood-in-court-again-\u2013-this-time-in-texas.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: Challenging Planned Parenthood in Court Again \u2013 This Time in Texas - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There\u2019s another important case against Planned Parenthood that I want to share with you. We have filed a federal lawsuit representing Karen Reynolds, a former Health Center Assistant at the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), in Lufkin, Texas. This is another whistleblower case. 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He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1520"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1540,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520\/revisions\/1540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}