ACLJ Files Unprecedented Sixth Brief To Defund the Abortion Industry and Defend the Lives of the Unborn

The “Big Beautiful Bill” presented us with one of the most consequential steps in years to protect innocent unborn lives: cutting off the flow of federal dollars to the abortion industry. The moment those taxpayer funds were removed, abortion providers launched an aggressive, coordinated legal attack to force Congress to keep subsidizing their operations. But the ACLJ immediately stepped into the fight. We have been leading the charge – brief after brief, court after court – to defend Congress’ constitutional authority to defund the abortion industry and save babies.

Our Six-Brief Campaign Against Judicial Activism

This effort has brought us to our sixth amicus brief filed in our relentless fight to end taxpayer funding. This latest brief, filed in the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Family Planning Association of Maine v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, represents another critical battle to ensure that YOUR tax dollars don’t subsidize organizations that destroy innocent human life.

Take action with the ACLJ and sign the petition: Defund Planned Parenthood NOW.

Here’s a summary of our six-brief campaign:

Brief #1 – Massachusetts District Court: Planned Parenthood’s Initial Attack. Just days after the Big Beautiful Bill passed, Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed suit in Massachusetts federal district court demanding something absolutely unprecedented: They wanted a federal judge to ORDER Congress to spend taxpayer money that Congress had specifically voted NOT to spend.

We filed our first amicus brief demolishing their arguments with decades of Supreme Court precedent. We explained that there is NO constitutional right to taxpayer-funded abortion.

Brief #2 – Maine District Court: A Second Front Opens. Maine Family Planning opened a second legal front, filing suit in Maine federal district court. Like Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts, they asked a federal court to force Congress to provide Medicaid funding for their operations despite Congress’ decision to exclude abortion providers from such funding.

We filed our second amicus brief defending the same fundamental constitutional principles. Judge Lance Walker denied their request for a preliminary injunction, recognizing Congress’ broad authority over funding decisions.

Brief #3 – First Circuit Emergency Stay: Fighting Back Against Judicial Activism. Back in Massachusetts, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted not one but two preliminary injunctions – first protecting some Planned Parenthood affiliates, then doubling down with a shocking decision expanding the injunction to cover ALL Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide. She claimed the defunding violated Planned Parenthood’s First Amendment associational rights and constituted an unconstitutional bill of attainder. This judicial activism represented a direct assault on the will of the American people and Congress.

We filed our third amicus brief in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, urging the court to issue an emergency stay of Judge Talwani’s first dangerously flawed ruling.

Brief #4 – First Circuit: Supporting the Emergency Stay Motion. As the litigation moved at breakneck speed and the October 1 effective date approached, we filed our fourth brief in the First Circuit supporting the Trump Administration’s second emergency motion to stay both preliminary injunctions in the Planned Parenthood case (our third brief in that case). The government faced an impossible situation – a single district judge was attempting to override the spending decisions of the entire Congress.

Our advocacy succeeded when the First Circuit granted a stay on September 11, allowing Section 71113 to take effect while appeals proceeded.

Brief #5 – First Circuit Merits: Fighting for Permanent Victory. The First Circuit’s stay in the Planned Parenthood defunding case was a crucial procedural victory, but the battle wasn’t over. A stay is a temporary relief that maintains the status quo while appeals proceed. To achieve permanent victory and to ensure Section 71113 could be fully implemented without further judicial interference, the First Circuit has to now reverse the district court’s preliminary injunctions on the merits.

We filed our fifth comprehensive merits brief, providing the appellate court with the full constitutional and legal arguments necessary to overturn Judge Talwani’s erroneous rulings and vindicate Congress’ authority to defund abortion providers once and for all.

Brief #6 – Maine First Circuit Appeal: The Fight Continues. After losing in Maine federal district court, Maine Family Planning appealed to the First Circuit on September 2, 2025. Now we’ve filed our sixth brief as this case reaches the appellate level. The abortion industry is asking the First Circuit to do what Judge Walker correctly refused – force Congress to spend money it specifically voted not to spend.

The relief Maine Family Planning seeks would transform federal judges into super-legislators empowered to redirect public resources according to judicial rather than legislative priorities.

Why This Pattern Matters

What we’re seeing is a systematic attempt by abortion providers to use the courts to circumvent the democratic process. When they lose in Congress, they run to friendly judges asking for injunctions. They forum-shop across different jurisdictions – Massachusetts, Maine, and potentially others – hoping to find sympathetic courts that will override the will of the American people. Congress has consistently sought to ensure that federal dollars do not indirectly subsidize abortions, and the Constitution permits Congress to act on that legitimate concern.

The ACLJ will continue to stand firm in defense of these constitutional principles and the sanctity of life across every circuit court where these battles are being waged. We’ve filed six briefs, and we’re prepared to file as many more as necessary – all the way to the Supreme Court if needed – to defend Congress’ authority and ensure that American taxpayers are not forced to subsidize the destruction of innocent human life.

To accomplish this, we need your support. Take action with us and add your name to our petition.