KY Gov. Matt Bevin’s Personal Vendetta Against Planned Parenthood 

Incoming Governor Matt Bevin announced that he would file a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic in Louisville, KY. According to Wave 3 News, Gov. Bevin claims that the clinic is performing abortions while the clinic was unlicensed to do so – and that it was operating illegally as a result.

The attorneys for the Indiana and Kentucky branches are challenging the suit, calling it a “personal vendetta” against the women’s healthcare provider.

Lawsuit Or Vendetta?

Planned Parenthood Indiana and Kentucky retained attorney Thomas Clay of the Clay Daniel Walton & Adams firm to represent them in the suit Clay’s called, “a personal vendetta the governor has against a lawful operation.” Planned Parenthood may very well be able to prove Clay’s allegation throughout the various phases of the lawsuit.

Planned Parenthood Indiana and Kentucky, which offers abortions and other health care services to men, women, and children with or without medical insurance, announced it started offering abortions January 21 at its Louisville, KY, clinic.

Gov. Bevin filed the suit shortly after, claiming the clinic was “not prepared for emergencies,” and has been offering abortions since December of 2015, which was illegal.

The inspector general of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services ordered the clinic to cease and desist abortion services, as they did not yet have an abortion facility license.”

PPAIK countered that claim with an approval letter from the state’s former inspector general who had given the clinic the go ahead to offer the procedures. According to the correspondence, the “application as complete and the license would only be given after an inspection of their facilities.”

Legal Abortion Clinic

Planned Parenthood’s attorney refutes that anything was wrong with the license application, and notes that the abortion clinic obeyed every point required and outlined for the clinic to receive its license. Clay stressed that, the only actual point that’s changed was the people involved – a newly elected governor, Matt Bevin, and a new inspector general – both of whom are anti-choice.

According to Clay via Insider Louisville,

Planned Parenthood acted with the upmost good faith … Planned Parenthood are pretty clear that they were doing everything they were supposed to do, everything that she [former inspector general Maryellen Mynear] said they should do, and then all of a sudden the game changed.”

“It appears that the governor has a personal agenda to do everything he can to thwart the operation of this abortion clinic, and that’s what this campaign appears to be: a personal vendetta the governor has against a lawful operation.”

Clay indicated that the lawsuit may be improper because the governor filed it on behalf of the Cabinet – the governor may not have standing to do so. In fact, according to the Daily Beast, the lawsuit does say Planned Parenthood had permission to operate.

The problem is that Gov. Bevin “rescinded that permission,” and made it retroactive. That would be the same as changing the speed limit today, and giving someone a speeding ticket who “broke it” the day before. It simply isn’t legal.

Is It About Money – Not Life

Nevertheless, the Cabinet for Health still wants PPAIK to cease operations at its Louisville abortion clinic, and pay a fine that, according to Wave 3 News, could vary.

It would be either $10,000 per day per “unlicensed operation” to total $570,000, or $10,000 day per abortion to total $270,000. Gov. Bevin’s also wants additional fines of $114,00 because of “specific deficiencies in the application for a license.”

What’s worse is that Gov. Bevin introduced a budget that defunds Planned Parenthood in its entirety, preventing Medicaid from reimbursing women, men and children who seek services at the low-income healthcare clinic. The lawsuit and defunding are likely designed to shut the abortion clinic down.

The same measure also cuts funding for other abortion providers, as well as any “affiliated organizations,” and would leave hundreds of thousands without a choice, or healthcare.

Featured Image Left By Gage Skidmore/Right By PBS Newshour via Flickr.com/CC by 2.0