{"id":2890,"date":"2012-05-22T11:42:26","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T15:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/faithandjustice\/?p=2890"},"modified":"2012-05-22T11:42:26","modified_gmt":"2012-05-22T15:42:26","slug":"jay-sekulow-appeals-court-texas-halt-abortion-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2012\/05\/jay-sekulow-appeals-court-texas-halt-abortion-funding.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Sekulow: ACLJ to Appeals Court – TX Can Halt Abortion Funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We have filed our amicus brief<\/a>\u00a0with the federal appeals court backing a decision by Texas to stop using taxpayer funds for abortion and to halt funding that ends up subsidizing Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.<\/p>\n

As you may\u00a0recall<\/a>, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a lower court decision and put in place a preliminary injunction prohibiting Texas from cutting off funds that ultimately benefit Planned Parenthood.<\/p>\n

In our amicus brief filed on behalf of nearly 40,000 Americans who signed on to our Committee to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Abortion, we urge the appeals court to vacate the injunction and argue that the decision by Texas to determine where it spends its funds is constitutionally sound.<\/a><\/p>\n

The fact is Texas has joined a growing number of states that no longer desire to provide taxpayer funding that ends up subsidizing abortion providers.<\/p>\n

Our position in the brief is very clear. We argue that under the Supreme Court’s government speech cases, “the Texas Health and Human Services Commission enjoys speaker autonomy to promote a message favoring childbirth over abortion, and to select speakers who are best suited to deliver health services in a manner consistent with that message.”
\n\u00a0
\n“That same speaker autonomy permits the Commission to exclude from participation in the program grantees who risk garbling or distorting the Commission\u2019s message,” the brief asserts. “The Plaintiffs here link the Women\u2019s Health Program in a conspicuous way to one of the nation\u2019s most prominent abortion rights advocates, and thereby undermine the Commission\u2019s intended message. Because Plaintiffs\u2019 identity and mission as Planned Parenthood affiliates are antithetical to the Commission\u2019s pro-life message, the Commission\u2019s autonomy over its message includes the authority to exclude Plaintiffs from participation.”<\/p>\n

You can read our entire brief here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood<\/a> maintains that the loss of funding would cause them and their patients “irreparable harm” because it would force cutbacks in services.<\/p>\n

Ridiculous. Planned Parenthood cannot legally force the state of Texas to fund its programs.<\/p>\n

In fact, the actions taken by Texas are protected by the First Amendment, as our brief clearly points out:
\n\u00a0
\n“The First Amendment does not require the Commission to permit plaintiffs\u2019 participation in the program just because they provide women\u2019s health services. Plaintiffs have a First Amendment right to engage in abortion rights advocacy, but they do not have a First Amendment right to undermine Texas\u2019 message disfavoring abortion by publicly and conspicuously linking the Texas Women\u2019s Health Program with Planned Parenthood.”<\/p>\n

This is an important legal fight in Texas. I want to thank the nearly 40,000 Americans who are standing with us. We remain hopeful the appeals court will permit Texas to exercise its constitutionally-protected authority to reject the pro-abortion message and halt funding to programs that support it.<\/p>\n

Jay Sekulow<\/a><\/p>\n

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

We have filed our amicus brief\u00a0with the federal appeals court backing a decision by Texas to stop using taxpayer funds for abortion and to halt funding that ends up subsidizing Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. As you may\u00a0recall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a lower court decision and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,31,1],"tags":[99,88,231,651,751,32],"class_list":["post-2890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-planned-parenthood","category-uncategorized","tag-abortion-funding","tag-amicus-brief","tag-appeals-court","tag-defund","tag-planned-parenthood","tag-texas"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Sekulow: ACLJ to Appeals Court - TX Can Halt Abortion Funding - 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\/2012\/05\/jay-sekulow-appeals-court-texas-halt-abortion-funding.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jay Sekulow: ACLJ to Appeals Court - TX Can Halt Abortion Funding - Faith & Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have filed our amicus brief\u00a0with the federal appeals court backing a decision by Texas to stop using taxpayer funds for abortion and to halt funding that ends up subsidizing Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. 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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\/2890","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=2890"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2900,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2890\/revisions\/2900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}