Upon assuming the bench, all new federal judges take an oath to “faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me … under the Constitution and laws of the United States.” So, why is Massachusetts-based District Court Judge Indira Talwani flouting that pledge?
On Monday, the Obama appointee (and Democrat donor) issued a revised preliminary injunction that attempts to block provisions from a recently passed law prohibiting the federal funding of Planned Parenthood. Talwani previously handed down a similar overreaching injunction in the case last week after initially granting the pro-abortion plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order earlier this month.
In her latest edict, Talwani expanded her prior order barring the Trump administration from enforcing the provisions passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. What was once an injunction tailored to granting temporary relief to some Planned Parenthood entities now extends to all such organizations nationwide.
Like those issued before it, Talwani’s new ruling lacks any semblance of logic or adherence to the Constitution. Not only did the Obama appointee all but endorse plaintiffs’ wholly illogical arguments that enforcement of the provisions likely burdens their First and Fifth Amendment rights, but she also offered a completely unsound claim justifying her overreaching order.
“Patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable. In particular, restricting Members’ ability to provide healthcare services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs,” Talwani wrote, parroting numerous pro-abortion falsehoods in the process.
While Talwani claimed that her order doesn’t enjoin the Trump administration from “regulating abortion” or “direct[] the federal government to fund elective abortions or any healthcare service not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage,” that’s ultimately what she’s attempting to do. Should the Trump administration submit to this overreaching injunction, taxpayer dollars will make their way to Planned Parenthood entities complicit in the deaths of unborn babies.
In one fell swoop, the unelected Talwani has declared herself — not the people — as the primary policymaker in America. In her world, laws passed by Congress and signed by the president are totally meaningless until she’s decided they comport with her twisted view of statutory law and the Constitution.
While certainly egregious, the Obama appointee is not unique in her willingness to flout America’s separation of powers.
Across the country, there are dozens of Indira Talwanis who genuinely believe the judiciary is supreme to all other branches. That is, no matter what America’s founding document prescribes or what is enacted by the people via their elected representatives, partisan lawyers in black robes are to be treated as kings.
Of course, that’s far from the system of government the framers established in the Constitution. But based on their participation in leftists’ judicial coup, it’s clear these judicial activists never gave a damn about it anyway.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood