NH Right To Life - suit to find the WHYs / WHATs / HOWs of that illegal PP funding by the Feds - Granite Grok

NH Right To Life – suit to find the WHYs / WHATs / HOWs of that illegal PP funding by the Feds

baby in wombWe’ve blogged a number of times that the last time the Republicans held all 5 seats of the NH Executive that they voted to deny funding to Planned Parenthood here in NH.  Then, so it seems, that the Federal Government’s Ambassador to NH, Jeanne Shaheen, just happened to ante up lots of Fed money (e.g., NH taxpayers’ money) to “federally override” a lawfully elected NH Exec. Council’s vote.  Surprised?  No – that is what Progressives do – they sneer at local control and authority.  But NH Right To Life had to file suit to get their FOIA (Right to Know) information behind how that money got delivered – and have been stonewalled by the US Government (Irony: Obama promised to have the most transparent Administration EVAH – how’s that worked out so far??).  From LifeNews  (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Obama Admin Defends Secrecy of $1 Million Grant to Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz

The Obama administration is defending the secrecy of a $1 million grant to the New Hampshire affiliate of the Planned Parenthood abortion business in 2011…The Obama administration is keeping documents secret related to a non-competitive grant the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded directly to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in 2011 without going through state approval or standard protocols and despite the fact that the state decided not to fund Planned Parenthood that year.

Today, a pro-life legal group, Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that responds to the Obama administration’s keeping the documents under wrap.  In February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit permitted HHS to shield information about the grant and the department’s discussions on how to portray the controversial grant to the public. ADF attorneys and allied attorney Michael Tierney represent New Hampshire Right to Life in New Hampshire Right to Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a lawsuit that seeks the public release of information under the Freedom of Information Act about a Title X “Family Planning” grant HHS awarded to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in 2011.

“Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Tierney. “The government is withholding documents that are critical in evaluating this apparently illegal funding, which the Obama administration granted despite New Hampshire’s grave concerns and without following standard protocols. The administration’s ongoing defense of Planned Parenthood and the secrecy surrounding its funding is completely unacceptable.”  ADF is asking the Supreme Court to take the case.

In June 2011, New Hampshire chose not to award a Title X subgrant to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, in part because of concerns that the affiliate was improperly using the funds to subsidize its abortion business and was not being transparent about its activities. The Obama administration responded and awarded Planned Parenthood a controversial sole source non-competitive replacement grant.  When New Hampshire Right to Life sought documents concerning the grant, HHS stonewalled until a federal court order required it to produce some, but not all, requested information about the grant, ADF said.

ADF says HHS has continued to refuse to provide certain grant documents on the grounds that they might affect Planned Parenthood’s “competitive position” if it faces a commercial grant competitor in the future. HHS also refused to produce information about its own debates over how to sell the controversial decision to the public.

As the ADF reply brief explains, the Freedom of Information Act “requires ‘full agency disclosure unless information is exempted under clearly delineated statutory language….’ The documents at issue in this case, all relating to a rushed non-competitive grant by HHS after the state of New Hampshire refused to award funds over concerns that Planned Parenthood was unlawfully using tax payer funds to subsidize abortions, could not have been done ‘in confidence.’ In fact, the state’s decision not to award funds and HHS’s decision to grant the funds were both highly publicized and of interest to many in New Hampshire and elsewhere….”

…The battle over information related to the Obama administration’s grant to Planned Parenthood comes after New Hampshire recently cut Planned Parenthood funding.

It is completely unacceptable that a Government “for the people, by the people” refuses to tell “the people” how it governs in their name and how it arrives at decisions “in their name” and why it spends “their money”.  But the incremental Socialist that is the Obama Administration believes NOT in “the people” but in themselves being the Ruling Class of We The People – for dontcha know, we are incapable of taking care of ourselves.  So any disagreement from “the people” is seen as mere mewlings from kittens.

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