In a vaguely-worded ruling two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a preliminary injunction to Planned Parenthood that keeps the taxpayer-paid federal dollars flowing. The ruling blocked the federal government from cutting off Medicaid reimbursement payments to Planned Parenthood, action that was taken when President Donald Trump signed the One Beautiful Bill Act into law.
That ruling was immediately ripped by numerous legal observers because Judge Talwani, parting from her robed counterparts, was blocking congressional approval rather than inventing legal reasons to block the executive powers of the U.S. president.
In her ruling this week, which was picked apart in an NRO article, legal analyst Dan McLaughlin says Judge Talwani’s 36-page opinion finds a free speech right for Planned Parenthood to use taxpayers’ dollars since abortion is a political issue.
“The opinion is full of rhetoric and euphemisms that echo Planned Parenthood,” McLaughlin concludes, “and it drips with scorn for the elected government.”
In a similar observation posted to X, Judicial Crisis Network president Carrie Severino warned the judge’s ruling sets a “dangerous” precedent because she is deciding how Congress votes to spend tax dollars.
A day after the opinion was released, the U.S. Justice Department predictably appealed the ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sam Whiting, general counsel for Massachusetts Family Institute, tells AFN the order is “legally baseless” in his view. That is because the judge is arguing Congress doesn’t have the authority to stop funding to an organization because it provides abortions. Congress has the right, he says, to protect human life by cutting off taxpayer funds.
“It’s also legally wrong,” he adds, “in the sense that Congress can do what it wants to do when it comes to spending taxpayer money."
Regarding the bill President Trump signed into law July 4, Whiting points out Republicans on Capitol Hill listened to their voters who have demanded Congress stop funding Planned Parenthood with taxpayers’ dollars.
“So what the judge did here was say that this is actually a violation of Planned Parenthood's First Amendment rights of free speech and association,” White explains, “because somehow they won't be able to advocate for abortion or advocate for all the policies they want to advocate.”
Before the DOJ had filed its appeal, Whiting told AFN he was hopeful the 1st Circuit will overrule Jude Talwani’s ruling.
