By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-19 16:26:32 | Updated at 2024-11-23 08:16:22
3 days ago
CV NEWS FEED // Americans United for Life (AUL) has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court after pro-life Oklahomans were denied Title X funding by the federal government.
According to a press release from AUL, the briefing is a response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate that Title X funding recipients must provide abortion counseling and referrals.
Since abortion is illegal in Oklahoma, except to save the life of the mother, the state did not comply with the mandate, and HHS suspended the state’s $4.5 million Title X funding.
Oklahoma sued and lost in both the district and the Tenth Circuit courts. The Supreme Court then denied Oklahoma’s application for emergency relief.
AUL’s briefing represents 19 members of Congress and was led by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.). Each of Oklahoma’s congressional delegates also signed the brief.
“The Supreme Court unanimously held this year that federal conscience laws definitively protect doctors from being forced to participate in abortions in Food & Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine,” said AUL’s chief legal officer and general counsel Steven Aden.
“Our review of the caselaw concludes the same protections apply to health care institutions, including Oklahoma’s Department of Health. AUL is privileged to file this brief on behalf of courageous members of Congress.”
Litigation counsel Carolyn McDonnell added, “Our argument in the brief focuses on the Weldon Amendment, an appropriations rider that Congress has included in every appropriations bill since 2004.
“The amendment is a robust conscience protection that prohibits funding for a federal agency if that agency subjects any health care institution to discrimination if that institution does not refer for abortions.
“We hope the Court acknowledges that Oklahoma’s Department of Health qualifies as a health care institution under the Weldon Amendment and reinstates needed Title X funds for the state.”
