Assclown Alert: Sticking it to Planned Parenthood with Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk

Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.

Anybody remember Trump-appointed anti-abortion, anti-LGTBQ+ rights, anti-birth control Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk?

Yep. He’s the federal court judge in Texas who tried to outlaw the widely used abortion drug mifepristone, claiming he knew more about its safety risks than experts at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Even the conservative-dominated Supreme Court saw problems with that and blocked his ruling.

Now, anti-abortion litigants have again sought out Kacsmaryk in hopes he’ll do their bidding in another suit that would be handily rejected in virtually any other courtroom.

The recently filed Doe v. Planned Parenthood suit wants to slap Planned Parenthood with up to $1.8 billion in fines and turn over much of that cash to anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress. Brought by an anonymous anti-abortion activist and backed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, that stiff penalty would be financially devastating to Planned Parenthood.

The litigation makes the absurd claim that Planned Parenthood should have to repay all the money it received for providing care to Medicaid patients in Texas and Louisiana during a time when those states were under federal court orders to continue working with the organization.

No serious judge would consider the possibility that a healthcare organization be pushed to the brink of bankruptcy for engaging in the work it was approved to do under a court order. Then again, Kacsmaryk has repeatedly proven his willingness to rule based on ideological vendettas rather than the law.

Elect an assclown like Trump, expect him to fill the bench with assclowns. As bad as things are now, just imagine the state judiciary if the former Insurrectionist-in-Chief is allowed four more years to sully it with extremist ideologues.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

Assclown Alert: Melting down over Pride Month with U.S. Rep. Chip Roy

Roy threatened to derail the military budget because he found the Air Force’s plans to celebrate Pride ‘divisive’ and ’embarrassing.’

Assclown Alert: Letting the bigots win with Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan

Despite saying the legislature should stop ‘bashing on’ LGBTQ+ Texans, Phelan enabled final House passage of a bill to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors.

Assclown Alert: Bringing up the immigration status of shooting victims with Gov. Greg Abbott

In a statement on the mass shooting in Cleveland, Texas, Abbott referred to the tragedy’s victims as ‘illegal immigrants.’

Assclown Alert: Being investigated for ‘inappropriate behavior’ with Texas Rep. Bryan Slaton

The crusading social conservative is facing accusations that he had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with an intern under the age of 21.

Report: Abortion may be illegal in Texas, but plenty of women are still getting them out of state

Some 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in most cases, according to a recent Pew Research poll.

Assclown Alert: Throwing a pants-shitting fit with toddler Gov. Greg Abbott

To anyone paying attention, the gulf between the House and Senate on property taxes was clear weeks before the session was over.

Ken Paxton will not testify at impeachment trial, defense attorney says

The Texas Senate could compel the suspended attorney general to testify but his defense team says they will fight those efforts.

Assclown Alert: Dealing in over-the-top words with Ken Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee

In a flurry of purple prose, Buzbee called Paxton’s coming impeachment trial an ‘evil, illegal, and unprecedented weaponization of state power.’

Confusion and stress abound for 500,000 Texans bumped from Medicaid

Continuous Medicaid coverage ended in April. Many of the roughly half-million people stripped from the rolls don’t even know they’ve lost coverage yet.

Assclown Alert: Ignoring medical realities for the sake of cruelty with Ken Paxton

Paxton’s office is appealing a court decision that would let doctors make the choice to end complicated pregnancies that could endanger a woman’s health.

Even after Planned Parenthood stopped performing abortions, Texas is still trying to shut it down

Planned Parenthood has managed to stay open in Texas despite the state’s best efforts to shut it down. But a lawsuit in front of a conservative judge poses an existential threat.

Assclown Alert: Pandering to extremists with Kyle Rittenhouse and his new political buddies

Despite his rabid fan base of gun nuts, MAGA voters and Proud Boys, Rittenhouse is no hero.

Assclown Alert: Bashing the Godless Democrats with Christian nationalist David Barton

Barton, who once said Christians are obligated to vote for Trump, recently said Democrats aren’t ‘God-fearing’ and are more prone to cheat in elections.

‘They just tried to scare us’: Anti-abortion centers teach sex ed inside some Texas public schools

The groups work in dozens of school districts across the state, but some public health experts say their curricula can be misleading and biased.

With an eye on Amarillo courthouse, U.S. senators push to stop federal judge shopping

Judge shopping has made a federal courthouse in Amarillo with a Trump-appointed judge a destination for conservative litigants challenging Biden administration policies.

This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.