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The democrats are livid about "defunding Planned Parenthood" so yesterday they held a press conference to unveil yet another lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
Gretchen Raffa, Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, kicked off the event by expressing gratitude to the district court for issuing a preliminary injunction over the federal reconciliation law.
She thinks the "Trump Administration and Congress attempt to defund Planned Parenthood is an unconstitutional attack" that will harm people, and prevent access to the "birth control or abortion care they need."
"The consequences would be nothing short of a health crisis," alleged Raffa who promised to protect access to care for everyone -- and since this is Connecticut, everyone probably includes illegals.
She turned it over to Attorney General William "Lawfare" Tong, who said, "this isn't about protecting abortions per say... this is about health care, not just life-affirming health care but life-saving health care, and without health care, you can't have public safety."
He got a bit defensive on the abortion issue, saying that Medicaid funding does not and has not gone to abortions for a very long time.
"This isn't about some ideological crusade against abortion and reproductive freedom -- it has nothing to do with that because that's not what Medicaid does," argued Tong before going on to slam the Big Beautiful Bill for attempting to defund Planned Parenthood.
Tong argued that the provision uniquely targets Planned Parenthood, and is a "direct" and "unconstitutional" attack on healthcare access, which is why he joined yet another coalition lawsuit against the Trump Administration.
Tong said, "This is yet another mean-spirited attack on women, LGBTQ+ individuals, communities of color, low-income patients, and providers. The State of Connecticut will not be a tool for this Administration’s unlawful agenda. The ‘Defund Provision’ impacts not only Planned Parenthood, but it undermines the public health of Connecticut’s residents, the goals of the Medicaid program and the State of Connecticut’s budget, which is why we are joining other states in filing this action today -- to protect the interests of all our residents.”
Tong suggested that the cost of defunding Planned Parenthood to Connecticut would be about $6 million dollars, so he sued, saying, "it's unconstitutional for the President to tell us that we have to violate someone else's Constitutional rights."
"You can't pass a law that makes us do something unlawful," said Tong unironically, while conveniently ignoring the fact that the democrat-controlled state legislature has repeatedly passed laws that force law enforcement officers in Connecticut to break federal law.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro complained that "they" have been coming after Planned Parenthood "for a long time" and promised to "beat whatever they are."
She also noted that the "courts are our friends," perhaps hinting at the activist judges siding with democrats, and promised to keep "holding their feet to the fire."
"It is about standing against President Trump's extreme, illegal as has been pointed out, assault on Planned Parenthood that was included in the Big Ugly Bill," said DeLauro, who the reiterated Tong's earlier comments, promising that Planned Parenthood doesn't use Medicaid funding to cover abortions.
DeLauro added, "It is nothing more than vindictive political warfare with potentially deadly consequences," while shaking her fist in the air, and calling Trump's actions a "political vendetta."
State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest also spoke at the press conference, upset about the "relentless attacks" on Planned Parenthood, but expressed pride that Tong was fighting and promised to keep fighting, too.
State Sen. Gary Winfield said "if this does through" then we will experience a "lack of healthcare for people we love" and also promised to keep fighting at the state level.
He said the "defund" move was nothing more than an "attack on women" ... and an "attempt to control their bodies" ... and an attack on "trans folks" who get "all kind of help here" in Connecticut ... and an attack on "people at the bottom end of the economic scale... it's an attack on the people we always attack."
Planned Parenthood Federation had already filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging the prohibited Medicaid reimbursements. Last week, following the expiration of a temporary restraining order enjoining the Defund Provision, most Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide became cut off from Medicaid funding. On Monday, the court granted Planned Parenthood’s injunction in full, concluding that the Defund Provision violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection clause as well as the prohibition on Bills of Attainder in the U.S. Constitution.
When asked why file another lawsuit in addition to the lawsuit Planned Parenthood already filed, Tong said that, "states are different" and that the "harm to states is distinct" and separate from the "harm" to Planned Parenthood. He added that the relief to states can be different than the relief to Planned Parenthood, too.
By the end of the press conference, DeLauro promised that "women will die" as a result of the defunding, and then Tong corrected her to claim that women "are dying" already.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here and you can watch the full press conference below.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon defended the provision.
“States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care,” he said in an email. “It is a shame that these democrat attorney generals seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability.”
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