Kavanaugh Joins Liberals To Protect Pro-Planned Parenthood Ruling

US News & Politics Law and Order
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Top 10 Anime Betrayals of 2018.

The Supreme Court declined to review three cases relating to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood at the state level Monday, over a vigorous dissent from Justice Clarence Thomas.

The dissent was significant because it indicates that Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the high court’s liberal wing to deny review of a lower court decision that favored the nation’s largest abortion provider.

“So what explains the Court’s refusal to do its job here?,” Thomas wrote. “I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood.'”

“Some tenuous connection to a politically fraught issue does not justify abdicating our judicial duty,” Thomas added. “If anything, neutrally applying the law is all the more important when political issues are in the background.”

[Read Justice Thomas’ dissent]

Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch joined the Thomas dissent, meaning there were three votes in favor of taking the case. Since four votes are needed for the Supreme Courtto take up a case, the opinion indicates that Chief Justice John Roberts and Kavanaugh joined with the four liberals to deny review.

This move could indicate that Roberts and Kavanaugh are loath to take take up an abortion-related question in the aftermath of Kavanaugh’s contentious confirmation. The Court’s new junior justice has generally kept a low profile since taking the bench in October.

Monday’s cases arose when Republican state leaders in Louisiana and Kansas stripped Planned Parenthood of state Medicaid funds after a pro-life advocacy group presented evidence that the abortion-provider was harvesting and selling fetal materials. Planned Parenthood contests the accuracy of these claims.

Planned Parenthood and several unnamed female patients challenged the states’ move in federal court. The legal question in Monday’s cases was whether Medicaid recipients can challenge the disqualification of a provider under the Medicaid law. As such, it did not touch on abortion directly.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Planned Parenthood on that question in June 2017, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court. That ruling is left in place now that the justices have refused to take the case.

Pro-life groups swiftly expressed their displeasure following Monday’s announcement.

“We are disappointed the Supreme Court declined to hear this case,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. “The pro-life citizens of states like Kansas and Louisiana, through their elected representatives, have clearly expressed their will: they do not want Medicaid tax dollars used to prop up abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood.”

The Trump administration is currently formulating a new federal regulation called the Protect Life Rule which would forbid public funding of Planned Parenthood under Title X.

https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/10/planned-parenthood-kavanaugh/

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“So what explains the Court’s refusal to do its job here?,” Thomas wrote. “I suspect it has something to do with the fact that some respondents in these cases are named ‘Planned Parenthood.'”

“Some tenuous connection to a politically fraught issue does not justify abdicating our judicial duty,” Thomas added. “If anything, neutrally applying the law is all the more important when political issues are in the background.”

He is spot on with this. Very disappointing to see the S.C. lose its backbone.

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come on @supperhey ! Don’t just “like” my post! Let’s engage and engage others!

This is a BIG damn DEAL! (btw, thank you for starting a thread on this).

Do you think Kavanaugh has been emasculated by what he went through in the confirmation hearings and is terrified of offending the left? Did the left “win” ?

Let’s postulate on why Kavanaugh backed off.

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I have my doubt on the Kavanaugh pick for SCOTUS, since from his long career, he judged close to Merrick Garland, and from this, you can see a more middle-ground, swing-voting position like Chief Justice Roberts / retired Kennedy. Not very surprising (well this position is not mine alone, I tihink I got it from Ben Shapiro)

I would have thought that the whole demoralization of Kavanaugh would have shown him how the left operates, but I guess not. We’ll have to wait and see, since this is merely his first couple months in court. Im sure Trump will get the next SCOTUS nomination down.

Fyi, I think he’s made this position on abortion / planned parenthood clear during the hearings:

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I thought Kavanaugh was a weak pick because of his ties to the Bush family and lots of DC establishment neo-conservatives.

Trump should have picked Amy Coney Barrett.

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I had to scratch my head and do a lot of digging to come up with a rational position.

It wasn’t the right case to take to reargue Roe V. Wade.

The right case will come along probably sooner rather than later.

Congress needs to grow a backbone and make PP totally ineligible to receive any federal funds as long as they keep performing abortions.

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metoo.

Granted, hindsight is 20/20, and the only good thing (so far) from the Kavanaugh nomination was that the GOP retained the senate post-midterm.

Not with this blue congress. We’ll have to wait for that as well.

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It could be done literally in one day.

As for why it’s the “wrong case” to trigger a review of Roe, from the DC article.

Planned Parenthood and several unnamed female patients challenged the states’ move in federal court. The legal question in Monday’s cases was whether Medicaid recipients can challenge the disqualification of a provider under the Medicaid law. As such, it did not touch on abortion directly.

Abortion wasn’t even a consideration here, it’s strictly about whether or not people have the right to file suit to challenge the change in law.

Kavanaugh voted the right way, citizens should have the ability to sue to challenge laws. That’s pretty fundamental to our system of government and jurisprudence.

He’s a constitutionalist and textualist and in sticking to those principles he really couldn’t vote any other way.

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It wasnt even a vote for or against the case, its a vote to hear the case.

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Which again would have been a waste of time. People do and should have the right to sue over laws they believe violate their rights.

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The BEST thing that came from the BK hearings was:
Exposure of the left wing lunatics that were an embarrassment to the entire country;
Exposure of the abomination of the left leaning politician tactics;

and

That we (Republicans) did not back down.

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Other than Flakey Flake that is… .

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OMG… Talk about riding the fence? He is a complete ass. :horse_racing:

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Don’t be surprised if he changes parties and runs as a democrat within a year.

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Yeah, I was thinking that, too, but if he was going to do that he’d have voted against Kavanaugh.

I think that he’s so clueless that he thinks that he’ll be a golden boy in the GOP when the establishment takes control again. In the meantime he’ll be a favored “tame republican” at CNN or some other Democrat media front group.

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The life of a conservative: Go to war for someone against the leftist hordes who tried to destroy his life, only to have him screw you over the first chance he gets.

When are we putting our yellow vests on?

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i prefer red, thank you very much.

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He didn’t screw us, he followed The Constitution. As long as he does he’s dong exactly what he promised us he’d do during the confirmation process and exactly what we have been demanding of justices for decades.

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Kavanaugh and Roberts join liberals to reject Planned Parenthood case

https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-court-planned-parenthood-20181210-story.html

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Was Roberts also a weak choice???

Ever think it was the right decision with the divisiveness we face today?

They’re will be other cases that will address the abortion issue.