Pro-Life Women’s Group: Kelly Ayotte Objected to Planned Parenthood Payment

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 7, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Life Women’s Group: Kelly Ayotte Objected to Planned Parenthood Payment

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 7
, 2010

Concord, NH (LifeNews.com) — The Susan B. Anthony List, a pro-life women’s group, is coming to the defense of New Hampshire Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte. The former New Hampshire Attorney General faces allegations from some conservatives that she did nothing to prevent Planned Parenthood from obtaining fees in a legal case.

The criticism alleges Ayotte had no objection to a monetary settlement covering court fees for the Planned Parenthood abortion business.

The allegations go further and say her campaign misled the public about the facts of the Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England case to the United State Supreme Court.

The questions concern a pro-life law the state legislature passed allowing parents the right to know when their minor daughter is considering an abortion.

New Hampshire’s state legislature approved the “Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act” in 2003, but before the act went into effect, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England challenged the law in Federal District Court. Planned Parenthood claimed that the law, requiring that parents be notified before their underage daughter has an abortion, violated the “undue burden” test and that an explicit exemption was necessary for abortions to prevent the death of the mother.

The Federal District Court agreed with Planned Parenthood, and a First Circuit Court of Appeals panel affirmed the decision.

An appeal went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the law needed to include an explicit exception for the life of the mother, but that states do have the authority to enact parental notification – a victory for parental rights on abortion.

The court then remanded the case to a lower court for consideration of the state’s original intent.

When a Democratic majority was elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature in 2006, however, the law was repealed and the lower court ordered the state to reach a settlement with Planned Parenthood. Ayotte objected to that ruling but the state was forced by the court to pay, the SBA List says.

“Kelly Ayotte’s fight for parental rights further established the constitutionality of parental involvement laws in other states,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

"Attempts to paint her as anything less than a heroine of the pro-life movement and champion of parental rights are clearly politically motivated. A study of the facts shows that Kelly Ayotte did everything she could to protect the hard-earned dollars of New Hampshire citizens from going to Planned Parenthood," Dannenfelser says.

The SBA List leader says Ayotte "consistently represented the best interests of New Hampshire residents by fighting for parental notification laws currently enjoyed in 37 states across the country."

"Ayotte fought to prevent New Hampshire tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood but was legally forced to do so despite her objections once the parental notification law was reversed by a new legislature,” Dannenfelser said.

Despite the objections, Dannenfelser says “Kelly Ayotte was and remains a pro-life trailblazer. The facts of this case only validate what a strong Life advocate she is.”

Related web sites:
Susan B. Anthony List – https://www.sba-list.org

 

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