SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
October, 20 2011, 02:33pm EDT
Contact:
Tina Noel, tina.noel@ppin.org or 317-709-3103
Planned Parenthood of Indiana Urges Federal Appeals Court to Side with Women's Health
ACLU of Indiana and Planned Parenthood of Indiana argue in Court to preserve key funds for preventive care
INDIANAPOLIS
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana were in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago this morning, defending Planned Parenthood of Indiana's patients and the lifesaving, preventive care the nonprofit provides.
The ACLU of Indiana, which is representing Planned Parenthood of Indiana in its legal proceedings, presented its oral argument in the State of Indiana's appeal of a U.S. District Court judge's ruling in favor of a preliminary injunction that halted the enforcement of a new state law that strips Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood of Indiana, impacting the ability of 9,300 patients to access preventive care at Planned Parenthood.
Following today's oral arguments from both the ACLU and the State of Indiana, Planned Parenthood of Indiana President and CEO Betty Cockrum issued the following statement:
"Despite what others would lead you to believe, this remains a battle where the biggest loser is the state of Indiana's overall health," Cockrum said. "We're fighting for our patients - many of whom are unemployed, underinsured or living in poverty - and their access to preventive care such as lifesaving Pap tests, breast cancer screenings, birth control and STD testing and treatment.
"Simply put, taking away our Medicaid funding means taking away lifesaving health care from 9,300 Hoosiers. Not a penny of the federal funding we receive goes toward abortion," Cockrum added. "We remain confident we have a solid case, one that clearly shows how the state violated both the U.S. Constitution and federal law. We look forward to proving it once again in the Court of Appeals."
Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, is leading the Planned Parenthood of Indiana legal team. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is also providing legal assistance.
A ruling on the State's appeal of the preliminary injunction will be issued in the future and there is no set timeframe as to when the Court will make a decision. The ruling will be made in the form of a written opinion from the Court.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is many things to many people. We are a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. Planned Parenthood delivers vital health care services, sex education, and sexual health information to millions of women, men, and young people.
LATEST NEWS
Texas AG Paxton Files 'Baseless' Lawsuit to Unseat 13 Democratic State Lawmakers
"This seat doesn't belong to him or me—it belongs to the people," one targeted legislator defiantly declared.
Aug 08, 2025
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued former Congressman Beto O'Rourke and his political action committee in what critics called a "baseless" bid to oust 13 Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an effort to thwart a GOP gerrymandering scheme.
Paxton's office claimed that O'Rourke, a Democrat, and his Powered by People PAC illegally solicited donations to cover personal expenses for Democratic state legislators who fled Texas in an effort to block a Republican plan to rig the state's congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump.
Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order and an injunction to stop O'Rourke and Powered by People from raising or distributing funds to support the more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who left Texas. The attorney general argued that 13 state legislative seats "have been vacated due to continued unlawful absences."
"Democrat runaways are likely accepting Beto Bribes to underwrite their jet-setting sideshow in far-flung places and misleadingly raising political funds to pay for personal expenses," Paxton alleged in a statement. "This out-of-state, cowardly cabal is abandoning their constitutional duties. I will not allow failed political has-beens to buy off Texas elected officials."
This, after Paxton and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-83) asked an Illinois court to enforce civil arrest warrants issued Monday in a bid to compel Democratic state legislators to return to Austin to vote on the legislation. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) also enlisted the FBI's assistance to track down and arrest the absconding Democrats.
O'Rourke said Friday that Powered by People filed a retaliatory lawsuit accusing Paxton of using "the power of the state of Texas to try and intimidate Mr. O'Rourke from challenging defendant in a free and fair election."
"The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five congressional seats," O'Rourke told KVUE. "Let's stop these thugs before they steal our country."
Targeted Democratic lawmakers also waxed defiant, backed by officials in the states to which they fled including Illinois, where Gov. JB Pritzer asserted that "there literally is no federal law applicable to this situation."
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D-50) said on social media that "Ken Paxton just filed a lawsuit to remove me from office. But this seat doesn't belong to him or me—it belongs to the people."
Advocacy groups also denounced Paxton's lawsuit, with Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs at Stand Up America, contending that the attorney general and Texas Republicans "are so desperate to pass their partisan redistricting scheme that they're launching a baseless legal assault to unseat democratically elected lawmakers."
"It's just the latest threat against lawmakers who refuse to carry out Trump's demands and rig congressional maps to bank five new Republican congressional districts," Edkins added. "The courts shouldn't entertain this undemocratic attack for even one second."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'The Clown Show Continues': Billy Long Out at IRS, But Probe to Persist
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden said that "my investigators have obtained alarming information pertaining to Long's conduct at the IRS that we have begun to investigate."
Aug 08, 2025
Less than two months after U.S. Senate Republicans confirmed Billy Long as head of the Internal Revenue Service, the scandal-plagued commissioner confirmed on Friday that he is leaving the IRS to serve as President Donald Trump's ambassador to Iceland.
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who opposed Long's IRS nomination with the rest of the chamber's Democrats—pledged in a Friday statement that a probe of the outgoing commissioner will continue.
"From the minute Trump announced Billy Long as his IRS pick it was obvious this would end badly, but every Senate Republican voted to confirm his nomination anyway," said Wyden. "He didn't even last two months on the job. Let's not forget that there wasn't a vacancy at the time Trump announced Long's nomination. Danny Werfel, a skilled leader with fans among Democrats and Republicans, had years left on his term."
The senator pointed out that "in just a handful of months, Trump and his crew have already gutted taxpayer service, weaponized IRS data against innocent taxpayers, and set us up for disaster when next year's filing season comes around. This is what Trump does—pick incompetent, unserious people for serious jobs, and sit back as the damage piles up."
"Billy Long left Congress a few years ago and went straight into the tax fraud industry, his only real experience in tax before his nomination," he added. "My investigators have obtained alarming information pertaining to Long's conduct at the IRS that we have begun to investigate, and that process will continue regardless of whether Trump stashes Long away in some foreign embassy."
The ouster was initially reported by The New York Times, which noted that "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will serve as acting commissioner until a permanent replacement takes office," according to a senior Trump administration official.
Long then confirmed the development on his personal social media account, saying that "it is a honor to serve my friend President Trump and I am excited to take on my new role as the ambassador to Iceland. I am thrilled to answer his call to service and deeply committed to advancing his bold agenda. Exciting times ahead!"
He later added a joke about Immigration and Customs Enforcement: "I saw where former Superman actor Dean Cain says he's joining ICE so I got all fired up and thought I'd do the same. So I called Donald Trump last night and told him I wanted to join ICE and I guess he thought I said Iceland? Oh well."
A spokesperson for Bessent's department, which includes the IRS, said in a statement: "Treasury thanks Commissioner Long for his commitment to public service and the American people. His zeal and enthusiasm to bring a fresh perspective to the federal government was evident in both the House of Representatives and as part of the Trump administration. A new candidate for commissioner will be announced at the appropriate time."
Long previously represented Missouri in the U.S. House, where Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) responded to the IRS commissioner's exit with a statement blasting Trump.
"We don't even need more details on Trump's latest scuttle to know how damaging his presidency has been for the IRS," Neal said. "With nearly a new commissioner each month and weakened customer service from his mass firings, the rampant instability comes at the expense of all who rely on it. One thing is for sure: Secretary Bessent should focus on his own job before collecting more responsibility."
Several critics, including Neal, highlighted that Long was preceded by several IRS leaders this year. As retired Adm. Mike Franken, a former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Iowa, put it on social media: "IRS Commissioner Billy Long is removed, the sixth change this year, by the guy who only hires 'the very best people.' The clown show continues."
Long's firing prompted widespread speculation that he was leaving the IRS because he refused to comply with an order from the president. Journalist Josh Marshall wondered, "How bad did the ask have to be for a Trumpy sleazebag like Billy Long to say no?"
Keep ReadingShow Less
In Swipe at UK, Huckabee Cites Allied Bombing of Dresden to Defend Israel's Gaza Genocide
"Justifying today's atrocities by pointing to yesterday's doesn't make it moral," said one critic. "It makes it monstrous."
Aug 08, 2025
Amid growing international condemnation of Israel's annihilation and starvation of Gaza—including from staunch ally Britain—U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday attempted to defend the genocidal assault on Gaza by invoking one of the most notorious Allied atrocities of World War II.
Appearing on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Huckabee singled out the United Kingdom after Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized Israel's U.S.-backed plan to fully occupy Gaza and ethnically cleanse approximately 1 million Palestinians from parts of the embattled coastal enclave.
"They never get credit for the things they do to try to prevent civilian loss of life," Huckabee said of Israel, whose 22-month assault and siege of Gaza has left at least 226,600 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing amid loosened rules of engagement effectively allowing an unlimited number of civilians to be killed while targeting a single Hamas member, no matter how low-ranking.
Mike Huckabee on genocide accusations against Israel: "Just remember Dresden. Over 25,000 civilians were killed in that bombing alone, and it wasn't food that the British were sending in to Germany."
[image or embed]
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 8, 2025 at 5:23 AM
"You have got the Brits out there complaining about humanitarian aid and the fact that they don't like the way Israel is prosecuting the war," Huckabee continued. "I would remind the British to go back and look at their own history. At the end of World War II they weren't dropping food into Germany, they were dropping massive bombs. Just remember Dresden—over 25,000 civilians were killed in that bombing alone."
U.S. and British warplanes indiscriminately bombed Dresden with munitions including 4,000-pound "blockbusters" and incendiary explosives over two days in February 1945. The heat generated by the inferno melted human flesh, turning many victims into piles of goop. Men, women, children; the sick and the elderly; refugees and Allied prisoners of war—even the animals in the city zoo—were incinerated together.
Acclaimed author Kurt Vonnegut—an American POW imprisoned in Dresden at the time, whose seminal novel Slaughterhouse-Five was inspired by the firebombing—later described the attack as "carnage unfathomable." After viewing images of the bombing, then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked: "Are we beasts? Are we taking this too far?"
As the old adage posits, "history is written by the victors," and no Allied officials were ever held accountable for atrocities committed against their Axis enemies. However, after the war, the Nuremberg trials, Fourth Geneva Convention, and Genocide Convention sought to ensure that horrors like Nazi and Japanese war crimes and what the British described as the "terror bombing" of Germany never happened again.
Huckabee's comments drew stinging rebuke on social media.
"So Mike Huckabee's defense of mass civilian death is... referencing more mass civilian death?" one U.S. military veteran said on X.
"Justifying today's atrocities by pointing to yesterday's doesn't make it moral. It makes it monstrous," he added. "In fact, the lesson of Dresden should be never again, not 'do it again.' But here we have a U.S. diplomat cosplaying a foreign country's mouthpiece for atrocities."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular