Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

The state of Ohio banned public funds from going to Planned Parenthood which sued to have the law overturned. However, a recent ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that Planned Parenthood doesn't have a right to those public funds. The court also said “medical centers do not have a constitutional right to offer abortions.” It should seem obvious that no organization has a right to public tax dollars.  But in some circles abortion is considered some kind of fundamental right. The ruling is significant in that Ohioans won't be subsidizing $1.5 million of their tax dollars to the single largest abortion provider in the nation.  The ruling impacts Tennessee and Kentucky which have also defunded Planned Parenthood.