Oklahoma Attorney General Joins Appeal Of Ohio Planned Parenthood Ruling

Oklahoma’s Attorney General Mike Hunter has joined 12 other state attorneys general to ask a federal appeals court to rehear a case about Planned Parenthood.

The coalition of attorneys general are disputing the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and say the ruling contradicts prior court decisions, including the Supreme Court that has repeatedly ruled that states do not have to provide taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood.

The ruling in question stems from a 2016 Ohio law that banned any facilities that advocated for abortion from receiving state funds for six health care programs. Last month, the three-judge panel on the 6th Circuit found Ohio’s law unfairly punished Planned Parenthood by taking away funding for the programs because the organization promotes abortion.

Attorney General Hunter said the ruling has potential to negatively impact Oklahoma’s laws that ban the use of public funds for abortions and abortion providers.

“The state of Oklahoma has defended the sanctity of human life by passing laws that protect the unborn,” Attorney General Hunter said. "The ruling by the 6th Circuit undermines a state’s authority to oversee and appropriate taxpayer dollars. I continue to be an ardent supporter of the right to life and am proud to stand with my colleagues to contest any attempt to abridge laws that protect the unborn.”

In addition to Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, the attorneys general of Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin all signed a brief disputing the ruling.