A Christian legal group filed an appeal today on behalf of a Washington taxpayer alleging the nation's largest abortion seller submitted fraudulent claims costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jonathan Bloedow filed suit in 2011 after discovering alleged fraud via a state open-records request. The case wasn't made public until 2013 due to a federal law protecting "whistleblowers" with inside information exposing such billing by government contractors. By law, these cases are filed under seal until a judge unseals them.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton said public funds should not be funneled to groups that abuse the public trust.
"American taxpayer dollars should be used responsibly and for the common good," he said.
According to the suit, Planned Parenthood of the Northwest filed at least 25,000 false claims to the state Health and Recovery Services Administration for reimbursements exceeding the amount for oral contraceptive pills. It also alleges the abortion seller filed at least another 25,000 false claims for the reimbursement of possible abortion-inducing drugs.
The total damages could be as much as $377 million.
A federal district judge dismissed the case last month on technical grounds. According to ADF, the judge wrongly concluded that Bloedow's allegations were barred by another lawsuit against an entirely different Planned Parenthood affiliate in California.
ADF released its updated report to Congress last year, identifying almost $108 million in waste, abuse and potential fraud committed by Planned Parenthood affiliates and other providers.
"Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood's bottom line," Norton explained. "They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It's time the abortion giant is held accountable."
Source: CitizenLink by Bethany Monk
