PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN, INC. v. AZAR

No. 18-5218 Consolidated with 18-5219.

942 F.3d 512 (2019)

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF WISCONSIN, INC., et al., Appellants, v. Alex Michael AZAR, II, In His Official Capacity as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services and Diane Foley, in Her Official Capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Population Affairs, Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Decided November 19, 2019.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Paul R.Q. Wolfson argued the cause for appellants. With him on the briefs were Kimberly A. Parker , Ari J. Savitzky , Leon T. Kenworthy , Ruth E. Harlow , Jennifer Dalven , Elizabeth Watson , Alan E. Schoenfeld , Helene T. Krasnoff , Carrie Y. Flaxman , and Arthur B. Spitzer .

Xavier Becerra , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of California, Julie Weng-Gutierrez , Senior Assistant Attorney General, Karli Eisenberg , Deputy Attorney General, Brian E. Frosh , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maryland, Maura Healey , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Lori Swanson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, Gubir S. Grewal , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, Hector Balderas , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of New Mexico, Barbara D. Underwood , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of New York, Joshua H. Stein , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina, Ellen F. Rosenblum , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Oregon, Josh Shapiro , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, George Jepson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut, Matthew P. Denn , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Delaware, Karl A. Racine , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Russell A. Suzuki , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, Lisa Madigan , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Illinois, Thomas J. Miller , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Iowa, Janet T. Mills , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maine, Mark R. Herring , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Robert W. Ferguson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Washington, Peter F. Kilmartin , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Rhode Island, and Thomas J. Donovan, Jr. , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Vermont, were on the briefs for amici curiae States of California, et al. in support of appellants.

Sasha Samberg-Champion , Lara N. Baker-Morrish , and Edward N. Siskel were on the brief for amici curiae The Cities of Columbus, Ohio, et al. in support of plaintiffs.

Jaynie R. Lilley , Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for appellees. With her on the brief was Matthew M. Collette , Attorney.

Brad D. Schimel , Attorney General at the time the brief was filed, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, and Misha Tseytlin , Solicitor General at the time the brief was filed, were on the brief for amicus curiae State of Wisconsin in support of the United States' Response to this Court's August 8 Order. Joshua L. Kaul , Attorney General, and Luke N. Berg and Steven C. Kilpatrick , Assistant Attorneys General, entered appearances.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge Srinivasan.


In 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) soliciting applications for family-planning grants. The district court rejected claims that the FOA was inconsistent with a governing regulation and the Administrative Procedure Act. While this appeal was pending, HHS disbursed...

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