Founding Freedoms Law Center Sues VA For Records of Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

Today, the Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC) - the new legal arm of The Family Foundation - argued the lawsuit we filed in Richmond Circuit Court to obtain government documents that would reveal why Virginia taxpayers are paying for abortions – and in greater numbers every year. We believe the hearing, which was argued by FFLC’s Chief Counsel Jim Davids against a representative of the Attorney General, went very well! (Click on the video below to hear our take.)

Jim Davids and Josh Hetzler, Attorneys for FFLC, discuss the case after oral arguments in Richmond Circuit Court.

But now we need your prayers for Judge Snukals as he makes his decision in the coming days! We believe in the power of prayer, and we can already sense the impact of all the prayers offered up so far.

This is a critically important case for the cause of unborn life, for the conscience rights of taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill to destroy unborn life, and for basic government accountability.

In this case, we are simply asking the state Department of Health to provide what should be public documents, which state the reasons why the Department approved requests for funding of certain abortions. Under Virginia law, the Department of Health “shall fund abortions” for lower-income women if a Department physician certifies “that he believes the fetus will be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or with a gross and totally incapacitating mental deficiency.”

We need to know: How is that phrase being interpreted and applied by health officials and staff of the notoriously pro-abortion McAuliffe and Northam administrations? How broadly is this standard being construed? Does it include, say, children with Down Syndrome? A child missing a limb? What is considered a “mental deficiency? Etc., etc.

This question has become all the more important since we’ve noticed that the number of approved taxpayer-funded abortions continues to increase each year, while the number of applications denied decreases. At a minimum, we need to know exactly why this is happening, to make sure the Department isn't abusing its authority to fund more abortions.

So, after the Health Department refused to accommodate our Freedom of Information request for a basic application and approval form for government funding – which we heavily redacted in order to ensure that zero personal information was involved either for the woman or any physicians – we had no options left but to sue the state to force their compliance.

Now that the case has been briefed and argued, all that is left to do is to pray for God’s favor. We should get a written decision soon, and we will let you know when we do. Thank you for your continued prayers and support as we take our fight to the courts.