ADF to White House: Time's up on NH Planned Parenthood records
ADF-allied attorney asks court to order Obama administration to produce long overdue documents
Friday, Feb 17, 2012
Attorney sound bites: Michael Tierney | Catherine Glenn Foster
CONCORD, N.H. — An Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney asked a federal court Thursday to order the Obama administration to produce records it was required to disclose more than 100 days ago in a lawsuit over its illegal funding of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
“Americans deserve to know how the federal government is spending their hard-earned tax money and if that money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Michael Tierney, one of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF alliance. “The Obama administration is flagrantly violating the law by refusing to disclose records related to its decision to fund Planned Parenthood without any competitive bidding. The court should order the Department of Health and Human Services to comply with the law.”
Tierney, an ADF-allied attorney with the Manchester firm Wadleigh, Starr & Peters, PLLC, filed the lawsuit on behalf of New Hampshire Right to Life in December of last year. The lawsuit came after the Obama administration provided funding to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England affiliates in New Hampshire even though the state’s Executive Council voted to reject the funding and instead asked that the funding be given to health centers that do not focus on providing abortions.
ADF is providing funding for the case, New Hampshire Right to Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As part of the litigation, New Hampshire Right to Life filed a routine Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the administration’s decision in an effort to analyze whether HHS followed its own regulations in awarding more than $1 million to Planned Parenthood without the usual competitive bidding process.
“While Defendant was able to review and award a $1,000,000 grant to Planned Parenthood in just five days, Defendant has been unable to review and produce the same grant application in the more than 130 days since Plaintiff requested it,” the brief in support of Thursday’s motion, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, explains.
The Obama administration told Tierney that it will not produce the documents any earlier than April 15, well after a New Hampshire Senate hearing expected in late March on a bill that would prevent HHS from contracting with any organization in the state that provides abortions.
“These inexcusable delays are flatly illegal,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line.”
“Americans deserve to know how the federal government is spending their hard-earned tax money and if that money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Michael Tierney, one of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF alliance. “The Obama administration is flagrantly violating the law by refusing to disclose records related to its decision to fund Planned Parenthood without any competitive bidding. The court should order the Department of Health and Human Services to comply with the law.”
Tierney, an ADF-allied attorney with the Manchester firm Wadleigh, Starr & Peters, PLLC, filed the lawsuit on behalf of New Hampshire Right to Life in December of last year. The lawsuit came after the Obama administration provided funding to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England affiliates in New Hampshire even though the state’s Executive Council voted to reject the funding and instead asked that the funding be given to health centers that do not focus on providing abortions.
ADF is providing funding for the case, New Hampshire Right to Life v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As part of the litigation, New Hampshire Right to Life filed a routine Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the administration’s decision in an effort to analyze whether HHS followed its own regulations in awarding more than $1 million to Planned Parenthood without the usual competitive bidding process.
“While Defendant was able to review and award a $1,000,000 grant to Planned Parenthood in just five days, Defendant has been unable to review and produce the same grant application in the more than 130 days since Plaintiff requested it,” the brief in support of Thursday’s motion, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, explains.
The Obama administration told Tierney that it will not produce the documents any earlier than April 15, well after a New Hampshire Senate hearing expected in late March on a bill that would prevent HHS from contracting with any organization in the state that provides abortions.
“These inexcusable delays are flatly illegal,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line.”
- Pronunciation guide: Tierney (TEER’-nee)
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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