Excerpts from the ACLJ:
We face a critical deadline in our ongoing battle with Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest provider of abortions. We are holding them accountable in a case where they are accused of fraudulently overbilling taxpayers by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The ACLJ has until this Monday, August 1st, to respond to Planned Parenthood’s latest legal maneuvering to avoid being held accountable for their actions.
Planned Parenthood knows that this lawsuit could cripple their operations in California and their opportunity for future public funding in the rest of the country. We are up against the full weight of this abortion giant’s billion-dollar budget – a budget subsidized by hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
Our team of attorneys is taking action, working vigorously to meet Monday’s deadline for filing our legal opposition to Planned Parenthood’s motion to throw out a large portion of this case. We are also continuing our work in several other critical pro-life cases – to defeat ObamaCare and defend pro-life pregnancy centers.
Earlier this week, we filed a new brief in our ObamaCare lawsuit, arguing that this pro-abortion law is an unconstitutional restriction of our liberty. Not only does it unconstitutionally force Americans to buy a particular product, it is essentially a bailout for the abortion industry.
ObamaCare infuses groups like Planned Parenthood with unprecedented levels of new funding – funding they will continue to use to attempt to defeat us in court and expand their abortion business.
We are also continuing to defend pro-life pregnancy centers against a New York City law threatening to shut them down – a law pro-abortion forces hope to enact in every city in America. As you know, we won an important victory in this fight earlier this month when a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing this law from going into effect. However, the government – with the support of pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the ACLU, and the National Organization for Women – has already filed their notice to appeal this well-reasoned decision.
We are preparing our response to defend these pro-life centers against this violation of their First Amendment rights so that they can continue doing what they do best – helping women in their crucial moment of need and saving the lives of unborn babies.
Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel
President Obama could not be more clear, saying in his television address: “If … we default, we would not have enough money to pay all of our bills — bills that include monthly Social Security checks [and] veterans’ benefits ….”
This is not only a moral outrage; it’s just not true.
Our legal analysis has concluded that there is nothing in the Constitution or federal law that would prevent the President from ensuring that seniors and our military heroes get the benefits they are due.
If President Obama will not make it a priority to honor our commitments to those who have paid into the system their whole lives and those who have put their lives on the line for their country, we must urge Congress to take action. Reports have shown that if we default, not only would there be money enough to pay Social Security, Medicare, active duty military pay, and veterans’ affairs programs, there would still be $39 billion remaining each month for other essential services.
Let me be clear. President Obama has both the legal authority and the financial resources to ensure that our seniors and our military heroes receive the benefits they are owed, yet he continues to use scare tactics, threatening those we cherish and respect.
As our nation is faced with this impending debt crisis, our leaders in Washington still have an opportunity to cut the debt and prioritize our spending. We could save billions of dollars just by cutting funding for Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, the terrorist-led Palestinian Authority and other despotic governments that oppose us at every turn, and pro-abortion ObamaCare.
Yet, President Obama and the liberals in Congress insist that the most important cuts we could make are ending tax breaks for corporate jet owners, while abortions remain a tax-deductible medical expense.
There is still time to prioritize our spending and solve our debt crisis, but we must send a message to Congressional leaders today. Tell Congress to support legislation that prioritizes spending, eliminates tax increases, and protects seniors and our military heroes.
Thank you for standing with the ACLJ and taking action to protect our seniors, troops, veterans, and values. This is a critical time for the direction our nation is taking, and your voice is vital in reminding Congress of America’s priorities.
Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief Counsel
P.S. In his address to the nation, President Obama urged all Americans to “let your Member of Congress know” how you feel about the debt crisis. It is time to do just that.
God, we're desperate for you. Help us as we pray for our country. Apart from you we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.