The United States Supreme Court on Monday rejected an anti-choice group’s lawsuit which sought to force the federal government to reveal more information about a $1 million grant it made in 2011 to women’s health provider Planned Parenthood of New Hampshire.
The justices rejected–by a vote of 7-2–an appeal filed by New Hampshire Right to Life, a group that sued the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to find out about the federal grant.
Two of the court’s most conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, said they would have heard the case.
Today’s action by the Supreme Court’s leaves in place a February ruling by the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of the government.
It should be noted that the government has already revealed some details about the grant, but New Hampshire Right to Life sought more, including a Planned Parenthood internal document which explains how the group operates its clinics.
Planned Parenthood receives about $500 million in federal funds annually, most of which comes from reimbursements through Medicaid.
In a written statement from Justices Scalia and Thomas, the two stated that the ruling “perpetuates an unsupported interpretation” of FOIA.
New Hampshire Right to Life claims that Planned Parenthood violated federal law by using the grant money to subsidize abortions. It is illegal for federal funds to be used for abortion services.
Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court to not hear the New Hampshire case comes just three days after the justices announced they would decide their first major abortion case since 2007. On Friday, the justices agreed to hear a challenge by abortion providers to a restrictive, Republican-backed Texas law they contend is designed to shutter abortion clinics in the Lone Star State.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.