The Road To Gilead, Con't

The US 6th Circuit just ruled to allow the end of state funding for Planned Parenthood in Ohio, and that most likely means an end to abortion services in both Cincinnati and Dayton.

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected Planned Parenthood’s constitutional challenge to an Ohio law depriving the organization of state funding because it performs abortions, handing a victory to anti-abortion advocates.

In an 11-6 vote, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturned a ruling last year by a three-judge panel of the court that the funding ban violated the due process rights of Planned Parenthood affiliates.

“The affiliates are correct that the Ohio law imposes a condition on the continued receipt of state funds,” Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote for the majority. “But that condition does not violate the Constitution because the affiliates do not have a due process right to perform abortions.”

Sutton also found no proof the ban posed an undue burden on a woman’s right to abortion, a right he said belonged to women, not to Planned Parenthood.

Tuesday’s decision voided a lower court injunction against enforcing the 2016 law, which had been signed by then-Republican Governor John Kasich. The appeals court upheld the injunction last April 18.

Planned Parenthood said the law strips funding that helps it test for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, conduct cancer screenings, and offer programs to reduce infant mortality and address domestic violence.

“It is unconscionable that politicians continue seeking to restrict people from accessing essential health care - which is a human right,” Chief Executive Leana Wen said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood did not say whether it might appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The reason why the ruling happened is very simple, 4 of the 11 judges on the court that voted to end funding were Trump appointees.  If they had been Clinton appointees instead, it almost certainly would have gone the other way.

You can thank white women voters in Ohio for that.  56% of them voted for Trump.  And no, I don't think Planned Parenthood will appeal to the US Supreme Court, because that case will be the 5-4 decision (the five being all men) that will allow all 50 states to end funding for abortion providers, meaning probably two dozen states will be without any abortion providers within a few years.

Roe v Wade becomes irrelevant.

And you can thank Donald Trump and the white women who voted for him for that too.