ADF files protest of federal grant to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

Author: ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton

On behalf of the Executive Council of the State of New Hampshire, the Alliance Defense Fund has formally protested a grant of $1.1 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services directly to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.

The New Hampshire Executive Council, which has authority to approve both the receipt of and the expenditure by New Hampshire agencies of state and federal funds, acted to prevent taxpayer dollars from subsidizing the operational costs of abortions and to administer its family planning services programs in a manner consistent with the values and needs of New Hampshire’s citizens.

In June 2011, the Executive Council voted not to provide $1.8 million to PPNNE.  During public sessions, the Executive Council concluded that the award of such a grant to PPNNE would subsidize PPNNE’s abortion operations.  The New Hampshire Executive Council also determined there was adequate coverage of family planning services in the potentially affected New Hampshire areas.

This decision is the latest example of the Obama Administration’s alarming pattern of usurping states’ authority to manage their social services programs in ways that best meet the needs of their citizens, and to reward the administration’s political allies, especially Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby.

ADF has also submitted a letter to President Obama signed by New Hampshire Right to Life and New Hampshire Cornerstone Action in support of the Executive Council’s protest letter.