Editor:

Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Michael Norton and his client, former Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Executive Director Jane Norton, have pursued their “subsidization” theory for decades. With the most recent determination from the Colorado Court of Appeals, that theory should be put to rest, once and for all. As Colorado courts have consistently held, the state constitution means what it says — not what the Nortons would like it to say. As the court pointed out, adopting the Nortons’ interpretation “would lead to an absurd result” and would likely generate both unintended and far-reaching consequences.

For nearly a century, Planned Parenthood has provided safe and compassionate reproductive health care to the communities it serves. The Nortons’ litigation is simply another of their efforts to drain the organization of resources that could otherwise be spent on doing just that.

We are aware that the Nortons and their supporters may ask the Colorado Supreme Court to review the Court of Appeals’ decision. It is their right to do so. We trust our Supreme Court will thoroughly consider the Court of Appeals’ unanimous decision affirming the District Court’s carefully crafted order dismissing the Nortons’ “subsidization” claims and affirming the plain meaning of our constitution.

Vicki Cowart

President and CEO

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

Denver