Tennessee AG sues HHS over more than $7M in denied, diverted Title X funds

By Jon Styf, The Center Square, Oct. 27, 2023– Tennessee is suing the federal government over its denial of Title X family planning funding to the state.

Instead, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in September it would send Tennessee’s allotment of $3.9 million each to both the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and Converge Inc. in Mississippi to expanded services into Tennessee.

HHS denied Tennessee its Title X funding earlier this year after issuing a notice letter. It did the same with Oklahoma.

“Title X recipients must follow all federal regulatory requirements regarding nondirective options counseling and referrals, including providing referrals for abortion upon client request,” the letter from HHS’ Office of Population Affairs said.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti argues in this week’s complaint HHS was attempting to coerce states into pro-abortion policy with the funding denials.

“We are suing to stop the federal government from playing politics with the health of Tennessee women,” Skrmetti said. “… Our lawsuit is necessary to ensure that Tennessee can continue its 50-year track record of successfully providing these public health services to the neediest populations.”

The complaint says Tennessee voters have shown an interest in valuing life by restricting elective abortions and promoting women carrying to term.

Skmetti’s office cited a 2022 review of the Tennessee Department of Health from HHS that said it is “the only agency with the capacity, staff, and expertise to administer Title X funds with integrity and without a gap in services in the state.”

Top Stories

United Way chapters in Nashville and Williamson County give financial support to Planned Parenthood

From 2nd Vote - United Way is the world’s largest privately funded non-profit organization and raises over $5 billion every year. Across the United States, a coalition of 1,129 United Way chapters partner with businesses, civic organizations, educational institutions, healthcare providers and more with many decisions made on the local level. United Way claims neutrality on the Life issue, but many chapters have financially supported Planned Parenthood programs. According to United Way’s own admission, an estimated 5-6% of local chapters have financial ties.

In 2015, 2nd Vote created the Pro-Life Guide to United Way to provide conservatives with a free resource that shows which chapters do contribute to Planned Parenthood.  The latest update with the most recent publicly available financial documents show 62 United Way affiliates donating to the abortionist. Our research team updates the information each year and has linked the supporting documentation.

Recently, United Way updated a position statement dismissing affiliate support for Planned Parenthood as “only a small number.” Well, if a Planned Parenthood abortion costs up to $950, the $2.7 million funneled through United Way would pay for at least 2,901 procedures in a single year. Does that sound like “only a small number” to you?

#

Rod's Comment: While the vast majority of United Way chapters do not support Planned Parenthood, the Nashville chapter, called the United Way of Middle Tennessee, and the Williamson County United Way do. The information is not current for the most recent year. Unless I have information showing that the Nashville chapter has stopped funding Planned Parenthood, I will be withholding support for United Way. To see which chapters of UW contribute to Planned Parenthood, follow this link.

Top Stories

A Planned Parenthood Comic Book (about as funny as truck load of dead babies)

Add caption

 

Add caption

Add caption

Top Stories

Scott DesJarlais chose not to ask a single question of Planned Parenthood

Press Release, MURFREESBORO, Tenn. –  After Scott DesJarlais chose to pass the microphone during the House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Planned Parenthood last week, the Grant Starrett for Congress campaign released the following lines of questioning that Grant would have asked Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards.

Grant Starrett, Republican candidate for Congress in Tennessee's 4th District:

"On September 29th, the President of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, came before Congress to testify at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Scott DesJarlais had the opportunity to question Richards at one of the most important hearings in Congress this year.

Watch what happened when he was given the opportunity: https://youtu.be/9Pi9byVXQk0.

Unbelievable. Scott DesJarlais chose not to ask a single question of Planned Parenthood, even in the wake of recent undercover videos that unmasked the horrifying practices of Richards’ organization.

Here are the questions that Scott DesJarlais chose not to ask, and that I would have asked, the head of Planned Parenthood:

​1. Would Planned Parenthood ever discourage a woman from seeking an abortion? What if a woman was explicitly interested in only male children? What if a woman was explicitly interested in only children of a particular race? What if a woman was being paid by a tissue harvesting company? ​

2. Before performing an abortion, what steps does a Planned Parenthood clinic take to ensure the child’s father hasn’t coerced the ​mother into an abortion?

​3. Recent undercover videos unmasked that Planned Parenthood will alter abortion procedures so that the baby’s body parts can be sold for cash. Planned Parenthood officials are shown haggling over price, including a notorious reference to a Lamborghini. Federal law says “It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human fetal tissue for valuable consideration if the transfer affects interstate commerce.” How do the activities on these videos not violate this law?

4. Regardless of the law, do you hold yourself responsible for these actions? Does the buck stop with you?

​5.  A grand jury report said that inspectors found “blood-splattered floors, and blood-stained chairs” in an abortion clinic in Philadelphia. You opposed the application of typical, widespread regulatory standards for outpatient surgical centers and hospitals. What regulations, if any, are reasonable for abortion providers? Does an abortion qualify as an outpatient procedure? What about an abortion makes it undeserving of routine safety and cleanliness standards?
​
6. Should abortion be available until the moment of birth? What is the difference between an hour old child and a child an hour from birth?

​7. Since 2006, the number of customers that go to Planned Parenthood each year for cancer screenings declined year after year. At the same time, some 13,500 community health centers don't receive the half billion dollars that go to Planned Parenthood. Why shouldn't organizations that provide cancer screenings but manage to avoid killing unborn children be the beneficiaries of your taxpayer dollars?

​Are you seriously suggesting that caring for women's health is impossible without providing abortions? You suggested in your testimony that you do not use Planned Parenthood for your own medical needs. Why not? Are you satisfied with your primary healthcare provider? Does it provide abortions?

8. You believe that abortion is a right. Does a right have to be financed by taxpayer dollars? If so, do you support the federal government subsidizing American citizens' purchase of firearms? In other words, should the federal government pay for my Glock?

9. You say that taxpayer dollars don't fund abortions, but your organization performs almost one out of every four abortions in America. But money is fungible, and you receive half a billion dollars from the federal government. How many private donations are then allowed to subsidize abortion as a result of your massive taxpayer subsidy?

​10. Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, observed, “The most obvious practitioner of racism in the United States today is Planned Parenthood, an organization founded by the eugenicist Margaret Sanger and recently documented as ready to accept money to eliminate black babies.” According to the CDC, African American babies accounted for 37.3% of all abortions in the United States in 2011, yet African Americans make up only some ten percent of the population.
​ ​
Do black lives matter in the womb?​"

Top Stories

First Tuesday meets Monday August 3. Speaker is Representative Diane Black.

Diane Black

From Tim Skow, host of First Tuesday:

1ST TUESDAY members and friends

 Hear the HOWLING coming from Washington DC Liberals ????

For the first time in a memory...

Federal funding for Planned Parenthood is in serious jeopardy of being interrupted !!!! The lady who has introduced the legislation and will be driving the bill is our next 1ST TUESDAY Speaker, Tennessee Congresswoman Diane Black !

Want to know the behind implications of Obama’s IRAN deal? How can Federal funding be cut from “Sanctuary Cities” like San Francisco?

What more is coming that may make Planned Parenthood the next ACORN?

MONDAY, August 3rd – Congresswoman Diane Black returns to 1ST TUESDAY. As a member of the House Budget Committee & Ways and Means Committee, she asked the following be shared with you. 

 In light of the undercover videos showing its employees discussing the harvesting of fetal organs, Congressman Black introduced The Defund Planned Parenthood Act – legislation placing an immediate moratorium on all federal funding of Planned Parenthood for one year while Congress conducts a full investigation.

The Monday, August 3rd version of 1ST TUESDAY will be a powerful lunch you simply DO NOT WANT to miss!

 As usual, we will meet at Waller Law - 511 Union 27th floor. Doors open at 11AM. Many Metro candidates who are “friends of 1ST TUESDAY" will be there. Lunch starts at 11:30 and is $20 for Members & $25 for Guests.

Secure seating for you and your guests at www.1sttuesdaynashville.com . Expect Diane and candidates to arrive before lunch begins. Look forward to seeing you Monday, August 3rd – if not before!

Tim Skow
Host of 1ST TUESDAY

PS -- Election Day is Thursday August 6th. Please early vote

Top Stories

Planned Parenthood Uses Partial-Birth Abortions to Harvest and Sell Baby Parts

This is sickening. The Planned Parenthood doctor talks about how the head of the infant is crushed but usually the other body parts can be brought out of the women's body intact and how care is taken to not damage the desired body parts. At the start of the day the staff huddles to determine what parts they can harvest that day.



“I’d say a lot of people want liver. And for that reason, most providers will do this case under ultrasound guidance, so they’ll know where they’re putting their forceps,” Nucatola said.

Top Stories

Look who is supporting the "No on Amendment 1" campaign

Amendment one which is on the ballot for the November 4th election would allow Tennessee the same rights to regulate abortion as other states.  It would not ban abortion as the Supreme Court in Roe vs Wade determined abortion was a constitutionally protected right.

 Because of a ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2000, Tennessee now boasts a broader right to abortion than that recognized by the U.S. Constitution.  As a result. Tennessee has become an abortion tourism state. Tennessee ranks third in the nation for out-of-state abortions. Amendment one would return Tennessee to the same status as prior to that 2000 ruling. A "yes" vote is a vote to allow reasonable regulation of abortion.  A "no" vote is a vote to maintain the status quo and Tennessee's status as an abortion destination.

The bulk of the money to fund the "no on amendment 1" campaign has come from out of state.  Planned Parenthood, the nation's premier abortion industry leader, provided the bulk of the money and the "vote no", pro-abortion forces have raised almost twice as much money as the "Yes on One" campaign.  To make a contribution to "Yes on One," follow this link.

Here is who some of the contributors to the "no on one" campaign are.

Council member Megan Barry, 2018 20th Ave S. Nashville TN       $200
Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Chicago IL,                                      $45,000
Joan Carr, with Planned Parenthood of Memphis                              $500
Planned Parenthood of North Carolina                                               $1000
Gordon Ball for U. S. Senate Committee                                           $2500
Christine Lalonde works in the Mayor's Office, Nashville                 $300
League of Women Voters, Nashville                                                   $1000
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California                                        $5000
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Mid-South, Memphis TN                $817,140
Janice Sontany, former State Rep employed in County Clerk's Office $150
American Civil Liberties Union-TN, Nashville TN                            $15,700
Choices-Memphis Center for Reproductive Health, Memphis TN     $32,500
Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, Knoxville TN                  $7500
Planned Parenthood of Southern Finger Lakes, Ithaca NY                  $1000
A lot of people whose employer is "Best Effort" and who are located across the state contributed. I do not know who "Best Effort" is.

To view the Vote No on one campaign financial disclosure, follow this link.
Please join me in contributing to YES on ONE. Follow this link to make a donation.

Top Stories

United Way of Nashville is not funding Planned Parenthood or Neighborhood Resource Center this cycle.

You may have seen an article in the Tennessean earlier this week that reported some charitable agencies were upset because they were not funded this funding cycle by United Way and some were upset that were notified they were not being funded by email (link). United Way has shifted their funding focus this funding cycle and some agencies that had been getting a lot of funding now are getting very little funding, some new agencies that had previously not been funded are funded, and some agencies that were funded are now not funded.

According to the Tennessean, Nashville CARES  which serves Middle Tennesseans infected by AIDS had its funding reduced  from $74,000 to just under $19,700. Second Harvest Food Bank had its funding reduced by about half and will receive about $62,000.  New agencies include Safe Haven Family Shelter, Center for Refugees and Immigrants of Tennessee, and Faith Family Medical Clinic.

The article did not report it but I went to the United Way website and am pleased to see that two particular agencies will not be funded this cycle: Planned Parenthood and The Neighborhood Resource Center. Funding cycles are for a six year period so for at least the next six years, they will not receive united way funding.

Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in America and is a pro-choice advocacy group.  Now United Way claims they really do not fund agencies, but they fund programs and that the funding Planned Parenthood received went to fund something other than abortions. I have worked for non-profits. Things are not as tidy as that. The same person who answers the phone to schedule breast exam appointments or birth control pill appointments also, most likely, schedules abortion appointments. Program funding helps keep the lights on and the building clean. One cannot fund a program without funding the overhead.  One cannot fund Planned Parenthood without supporting abortion.

The Neighborhood Resource Center does some things I actually like and somethings I don't, but they are primarily a community organizing group. Their work is political, not charitable.  They empower neighborhood activist and educate them about how to exert power and influence policy.  There is nothing wrong with that, but NRC does not need to be in the mix that also funds homeless shelters and food banks and charitable health clinics.

Some years ago, I was active in United Way and successfully wrote grants for the agency I worked for. I know United Way does a lot of good, but I was not comfortable contributing to United Way when they fund Planned Parenthood and political activism.

Most of my giving is to conservative political activity.  I think providing funding to elect people who will vote against the drift toward socialism and bigger and bigger government, funding research and education organizations that provide the arguments to resist the drift toward socialism, and funding conservative advocacy groups that are working to promote free enterprise and fidelity to the Constitution and protection of our liberties is as important as feeding the hungry or sheltering the homeless. I do not think there is a more important cause to support than the cause of freedom.

I also give some money to the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation because I like the work they do in protecting  waterfalls and beautiful vistas and other natural treasures. I also give to the Alzheimer Association, since my wife suffers from this disease and fighting Alzheimer's is personal with me.  I also give a little here and there to other causes such as the Salvation Army and Union Mission and some others and I occasionally  personally help people in need. Now that United Way is not funding the agencies that I find objectionable, I may support the United Way.

Top Stories

Planned Parenthood endorses murder of living children

This is unreal, but in testimony given before a Florida House of Representative committee a Planned Parenthood spokesman said that if a child is born alive in a botched abortion the decision of weather or not to kill the baby should be left up to the mother and her doctor.

Rep. Jim Boyd: "So, um, it is just really hard for me to even ask you this question because I’m almost in disbelief. If a baby is born on a table as a result of a botched abortion, what would Planned Parenthood want to have happen to that child that is struggling for life?”

Planned Parenthood lobbyist Snow: "We believe that any decision that's made should be left up to the woman, her family, and the physician."

Planned Parenthood has long fought any effort that reduced the number of abortions such as discussion of options with the mother or a waiting period.  Planned Parenthood has opposed outlawing partial birth abortions.  Now, they advocate the right to "abort" a baby after it is born. 

No government anywhere should ever give a dime to Planned Parenthood even for non-abortion health services. United Way should not support Planned Parenthood regardless of what service they may provide. They should be treated with the same contempt we have for any child murderer. They should be shunned and not welcome in polite society. 

Recently Lindsey Lowe was sentenced to  two life sentences for the 2011 murder of her infant twins. She was convicted of two counts each of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse. Planned parenthood would have considered what she did a post birth abortion.

Top Stories

Planned Parenthood Booted out of Rocketown

Top Stories

TN Planned Parenthood chapters stripped of all federal funding

Jun. 11, 2011,  Chas Sisk, The Tennessean

The Metro Public Health Department will take over a $335,000 federal grant for family planning services, after a campaign to strip the funding from Planned Parenthood.

Metro Health Director William Paul said in a letter Friday that his department will accept all federal money set aside for family planning in Davidson County. The money had previously been split between Metro and Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee. (link)

Comment: Fantastic! Thank you to the state legislature and to Governor Haslam for making this happen. 

Top Stories