Nixon ends defense against funding family planning

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Attorney General Jay Nixon said Tuesday he would stop defending state restrictions on the use of family planning funds in response to a state Supreme Court decision.

Judges ruled Tuesday that Nixon's office had a conflict of interest by representing both the Legislature's position, restricting the money, and that of the state health director, who had allowed money to go to abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

The state's highest court said Nixon must choose one side or the other and sent the lawsuit back to a lower court.

Two hours after the ruling, Nixon announced he was dropping his defense of the legislative budget language in both state and federal court and firing special assistant attorney general Jordan Cherrick, who had been hired to defend the restrictions.

Abortion funding banned

Lawmakers in 1999 voted across party lines to pass an appropriations bill that prohibited family planning funds from going to abortion providers. It was just the latest attempt to stop the funding, which had been supported by Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan.

Shortly after the 1999 action, a lawsuit was brought by Planned Parenthood of Mid-Missouri and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region.

"Legislating by appropriation is just not the way this one is going to happen," Nixon said Tuesday. "I make this decision with the confidence that the Legislature had their day in court."

Nixon said Maureen Dempsey, the director of the state health department whose last day on the job is Friday, can now contract with Planned Parenthood.

Neither Dempsey nor officials from her office immediately returned repeated telephone messages.

Asked by a reporter what he would tell anti-abortion lawmakers who passed the language, Nixon said: "Put it in a bill, not in appropriations. Nothing here prevents them from going and passing a bill."

Lawmakers said they were pondering their next move.

"I think Jay Nixon should have represented the constitutional authority of the General Assembly to appropriate taxpayer money," said Sen. David Klarich, R-Clayton. "Instead, he's contributed to the abuse of the appropriation process and the executive branches usurpation of our constitutional authority as lawmakers."

Nixon noted that he was an abortion rights supporter, and that a deal was struck a few years ago to have an independent attorney represent the state in support of the restrictive budget language.

It was from that agreement that Cherrick, who practices law in St. Louis, was hired. Cherrick had been paid about $200,000 to defend the budget language in state and federal court, Nixon said.