Abortionists lose fight for bishops' private documents

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an abortion business' attempt to obtain copies of the internal discussions of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops regarding a new state law.

The law requires the remains of aborted babies to be cremated or interred instead of dumped in landfills, and the bishops had offered Catholic cemeteries as a resource.

The bishops, however, were not part of the lawsuit brought by the Whole Woman's Health clinic in Austin against the state.

The abortion business, nevertheless, asked to see all communications among the bishops regarding abortion, "simply because the church offered space in Catholic cemeteries to bury aborted human remains."

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The request came after the executive director of the bishops conference, Jennifer Allmon, voluntarily testified during administrative proceedings regarding the law that human remains should be disposed of with respect.

A lower court had ordered the bishops to give up their internal documents, but the 5th Circuit stepped in to halt the order temporarily. It now has made the order permanent.

"The decision protects religious leaders from intrusive government burdens on internal church affairs, including being forced to turn over discussions regarding church doctrine and ministry," said the non-profit legal group Becket, which worked on the case.

"Letting trial lawyers put religious leaders under constant surveillance doesn't make sense for church or state," said Eric Rassbach, senior counsel at Becket. "The court was right to nip this abuse of the judicial process in the bud."

The court concluded that the bishops' claims for protection from such a demand "go to the heart of the constitutional protection of religious belief and practice as well as citizens' right to advocate sensitive policies in the public square."

The appeals court said the abortionists' attack on the bishops "looks like an act of intimidation" that would give the bishops' conference the no-win choice of retreating from the discussion or defending its position.

The abortionists had offered to withdraw the request if the conference executive would refuse to testify at a witness on behalf of the law.

The court said it looked like an effort "to retaliate against the people of faith for not only believe in the sanctity of human life – but also for wanting to do something about it."

The conference, aligning with the Catholic church's well-known pro-life position, has worked with hospitals and families for years to provide burials for the human remains.

Texas first proposed the measure as a rule, then wrote it into law, and the bishops simply were offering their support.

The bishops readily provided copies of relevant communications with outside groups but rejected the abortionists's request for their "private, internal communications."

"We are grateful for the court's ruling," said Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas. "We believe it will protect religious freedom not just for Catholics, but for Americans of all faiths."

Along with Whole Woman's Health, plaintiffs are Brookside Women's Medical Center, Whole Woman's Health Alliance, Alamo City Surgery Center and several individuals, including Lendol Davis and Bhavik Khumar.

The defendant is Charles Smith, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services commission.

It's not the first request for private religious communications in a Texas case. In 2014, then-Houston mayor Annise Parker, a lesbian, asked for the sermons, notes and other communications of Christian pastors who had publicly opposed her measure creating special rights for transgendered people.

She ended up being rebuked by both the courts and voters, who ultimately rejected her plan.