Federal Judge Rules State Must Give Medicaid Money to Planned Parenthood

Abortion, , ,

According to news sources, yesterday U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker expanded a previous ruling regarding the State of Arkansas, Planned Parenthood, and Medicaid tax dollars.

You may recall last year Governor Hutchinson ordered the State of Arkansas to sever ties with Planned Parenthood after a series of videos emerged showing Planned Parenthood officials discuss the harvest and sale of organs from aborted babies. Governor Hutchinson’s decision effectively barred Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements from Arkansas.

In response, three Planned Parenthood patients sued the state. Judge Kristine Baker ruled the state had to provide Medicaid dollars for those three women. This week she expanded that ruling to apply to all of Planned Parenthood’s patients in Arkansas.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office is appealing this lawsuit to a higher court, saying, “[Judge Baker’s] order unfortunately allows Planned Parenthood to continue to use its patients to pad its bottom line at taxpayers’ expense. Thankfully, the ultimate issues in this case will be decided by the Court of Appeals.”

Other Lawsuits in Judge Baker’s Court

This is not the first time we have talked about one of Judge Kristine Baker’s rulings. Judge Baker also presided over Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit regarding Act 577 of 2015.

The law requires doctors performing drug-induced abortions to follow FDA protocols when administer abortion drugs like RU-486. It also requires abortion clinics to have an agreement with a physician who has admitting privileges at a local hospital in case complications arise from the abortion.

In response, Planned Parenthood sued the State of Arkansas. Last spring U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction preventing the state from enforcing this pro-life law. Attorney General Rutledge’s office appealed the injunction, asking a higher court to reverse it and let the state enforce Act 577.

In 2014 U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker also struck down the Arkansas Marriage Amendment, which Arkansans overwhelmingly supported in 2004.

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Arkansas A.G. Stands Up for Religious Liberty

Religious Freedom, , ,

We have written repeatedly about states around the country trying to force bakers, photographers, florists, and others to participate in same-sex ceremonies despite these individuals’ religious convictions about marriage.

In many cases, states are alleging that declining to participate in a same-sex wedding runs afoul of the state’s civil or criminal anti-discrimination laws. One of the more high-profile cases involves Arlene’s Flowers in Washington State.

Yesterday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced she was co-filing an amicus brief in support of Arlene’s Flowers. Below is a press release from her office.

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is leading a 13-state coalition in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, urging the court to protect the religious conscience rights of its citizens. The attorneys general believe this case has national implications and that similar cases may arise in their states.

“This country has a rich history of protecting the rights of conscience and the free exercise of religion,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Unfortunately, these rights have recently come under a sustained and coordinated assault even though they are the very reason many came to this country in the first place. Along with my colleagues, I am urging the Washington Supreme Court to recognize that the actions of the defendant are not discriminatory or unlawful but rather reflect sincerely held religious beliefs that should be accommodated in our pluralistic and tolerant society.”

The case involves an owner of a flower shop (Ms. Barronelle Stutzman) who declined to create a floral arrangement for and oversee its placement at a same-sex wedding based on her religious beliefs. She is being sued by the State of Washington under its discrimination law and unfair business practices act.

Stutzman has served this particular client for years, considered him a friend and remains willing to serve him in the future, but she simply believes based on her religious beliefs that she could not participate in and create a flower arrangement for the same-sex marriage.

The attorneys general conclude in their brief that “Our history encourages a public square with many voices, all trying to persuade others of their views. But Respondents want all the voices either to agree on one view or to be silent. Because that runs counter to America’s history of free speech and religious exemptions — which are embedded in Washington’s Constitution — Amici respectfully urge this Court to rule in Appellants’ favor.”

Arkansas is joined in filing by attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia and the governors of Kansas and Kentucky.

We applaud Attorney General Rutledge and her office for taking a stand for religious liberty and rights of conscience.

You can read the amicus brief here.

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Marijuana: Smoking a Plant

Marijuana

The following blog post is by Family Council staff member Deborah Beuerman.

There’s no special “medical marijuana” plant.  The marijuana plant people smoke to get high is the same one some people claim is medicine.  Looks like you’d better be prepared for side effects when smoking that medicine.

Smoking?  Is there any other medicine people have to smoke?  Smoking itself is harmful.  And research continues to show marijuana contains more tar and toxins compounds than tobacco.

Marijuana smoke deposits in the lungs four times the tar of tobacco smoke.  While there is not conclusive evidence that marijuana causes as much cancer as tobacco, smokers suffer from the same chronic lung illnesses and infections and respiratory problems like bronchitis and COPD.

Marijuana does cause one special infection.  Aspergillus is a mold or fungus that grows on the plants.  When taken into the lungs, one type of Aspergillus causes an allergic reaction and coughing and wheezing.  Another type of Aspergillus can spread throughout the body and damage any of the organs, of course starting with the lungs.  This infection, invasive aspergillosis can be fatal in 90% of cases.

Smoking marijuana is not good for anyone’s health.

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