Tag Archives: ZZ: Johnson v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas

WBIR.com: A report from Alliance Defending Freedom, a Phoenix-based Christian legal group, claims that that audits of Planned Parenthood programs in 10 states showed about $8 million in overbilling. Whistleblower suits filed by former Planned Parent workers in California, Texas, and Iowa made similar claims. Michael Norton, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, is the lawyer in the Houston and Iowa suits. The Iowa suit accused was dismissed in district court, but he’s optimistic about the Houston suit. That suit accuses Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, based in Houston, of overbilling the Texas Women’s Health Program by $5.7 million, by charging for medical services related to abortion . . . Norton, an abortion foe, said he hopes that politicians will crack down on Planned Parenthood. “Everyone agrees that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as anyone else,” he said.

The New American: Among the pro-life groups applauding the ruling was Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing a former Texas Planned Parenthood clinic director, Abby Johnson, who has charged that the abortion giant is guilty of defrauding the Texas Women’s Health Program of more than $5.7 million. ADF said that the case against Planned Parenthood of Southeast Texas represents just a fraction of more than $100 million in waste, fraud, and abuse the conservative legal advocacy group exposed in a report it presented to the U.S. Congress last February. “Texans shouldn’t be forced to fund abortion industry giants like Planned Parenthood, so the court got this right,” said ADF Senior Counsel Mike Norton in response to the latest court ruling. “Texas law reserves taxpayer money for real healthcare for women and protects Texans from being financially coerced into abortion advocacy.” He added that women “deserve better than Big Abortion’s predatory business model and taxpayers deserve better than to be victims of Planned Parenthood’s waste and abuse of public dollars.”

“Texans shouldn’t forced to fund abortion industry giants like Planned Parenthood, so the court got this right,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Mike Norton. “Texas law reserves taxpayer money for real healthcare for women and protects Texans from being financially coerced into abortion advocacy. Women deserve better than Big Abortion’s predatory business model and taxpayers deserve better than to be victims of Planned Parenthood’s waste and abuse of public dollars.”

LifeSiteNews: With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she plans to expose at least 87,000 instances of fraud during her time as a clinic manager in Southeast Texas.

Family Research Council: One of those states–Texas–will be hearing its first arguments on the issue this week in U.S. District Court, thanks to former Planned Parenthood director-turned-whistleblower Abby Johnson. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), she plans to expose at least 87,000 instances

One News Now: “The Houston management team announced to all those who were present that it had been falsely billing the Texas Women’s Health Program for services that are not reimbursable,” Norton details about a Planned Parenthood management meeting in Houston.

Available for media interviews following Norton’s oral argument against motions to dismiss Johnson v. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, a lawsuit that alleges “repeated false, fraudulent, and ineligible claims for Medicaid reimbursements” through the Texas Women’s Health Program

Christian Post: Steve Aden, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, praised the 5th Circuit’s decision on allowing states such as Texas to withhold taxpayer dollars to organizations that provide abortions. “Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions,” said Aden in a written statement on Tuesday.

“Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortions. The court’s decision against the position of Planned Parenthood and the Obama administration again shows that the abortion industry and its political allies are bluffing when they say that states cannot stop taxpayer funding from being used directly or indirectly for abortions. The court has done the right thing in upholding the state’s right to exclude abortionists from the program, especially ones like Planned Parenthood, which is currently under investigation by Congress for fraud.”

ADF Attorney Steve Aden on the Janet Mefferd Show to discuss this. | MP3 audio 13:47 mins

ADF Attorney Casey Mattox appeared on the Victoria Taft Show to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 07:08 mins

ADF Attorney Mike Norton appeared on KFUO with Roland Lettner to discuss the case. | MP3 audio 25:10 mins

Catherine Glenn Foster at Washington Examiner: When Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards described 2011 as “the most difficult year in Planned Parenthood’s history,” I wondered if she meant difficult as compared to the nearly $500 million in profit the organization had amassed the year before.

JillStanek.com: I spoke with ADF attorney Mike Norton today about personal liability. “Current or former employees who have information about potential fraud should speak with an attorney for guidance,” said Norton. “I would be happy to talk to anyone who thinks they have knowledge about fraud committed by Planned Parenthood. I want to make sure they are protected as whistleblowers and help reveal the crime rather than become a bullseye of the investigation.”

New American: ADF senior counsel Michael Norton added that “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it. No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else.”

ADF Attorney Steve Aden apeared on the Hugh Hewitt Show to discuss this: False claims and fraud: Lawsuit exposes Planned Parenthood deception. | MP3 audio 5:44 mins

Breitbart: In a news release on Friday, ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton said: Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it…everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.

Baptist Press: ADF Senior Counsel Michael Norton said in a written statement, “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

WLS 890 AM: The ADF press release states, “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.” [links to ADF PR and Washington Times article]

NC Register: “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else,” said Michael Norton, chief counsel to the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed the suit on behalf of Johnson. “It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

FRC Washington Update: Until they iron out those fundamental questions, Gov. Perry has an even stronger case for booting Planned Parenthood from its network now that it’s been accused of 87,075 cases of Medicaid fraud in Texas. Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood clinic manager-turned-pro-life activist, is teaming up with Alliance Defense Fund to expose the group’s multi-million dollar scam, in which it allegedly billed the federal government for thousands of services it never provided. Extortion seems to be a recurring theme for the organization, which has faced similar charges in California, New York, and Washington.

Life News: “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

One News Now: “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” contends ADF attorney Michael Norton. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

Washington Times: Under the law, it is likely that Planned Parenthood was not aware of the sealed lawsuit, said Alliance Defense Fund senior counsel Michael J. Norton, one of the lawyers representing Ms. Johnson. But once Planned Parenthood responds, “I suspect we will be, very shortly, in sort of what you would characterize as an all-out war,” he said.

Washington Examiner: “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud,” Norton said.

Christian Post: “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” Michael J. Norton, senior counsel for ADF, said in a statement. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else.” “It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

LifeSiteNews: “Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, whose firm is representing Johnson in the case. “No matter where a person stands on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

Planned Parenthood submitted “repeated false, fraudulent, and ineligible claims for Medicaid reimbursements” through the Texas Women’s Health Program according to a federal lawsuit made public Friday.