Anti-abortion activist Carol Everett—whose organization the Heidi Group served a fraction of the women’s health patients it pledged to treat and is under state investigation for questionable spending of more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars—has a new venture. She’s quietly starting a new anti-abortion group and suing the federal government to try to get more funding.
In a move first reported by Politico, Everett and two others affiliated with the Heidi Group formed a new organization, Vita Nuova, or “new life,” on July 2. The very next day, the group filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, challenging rules that it says bars Vita Nuova, a “Christian, pro-life organization,” and others like it from participating in the Title X federal family planning program. The lawsuit claims that Vita Nuova—which does not appear to have a website or medical providers at this point—is stymied by its anti-abortion position, and by a Title X requirement that providers recognize same-sex marriage, which the group does not, opposing “homosexual behavior for religious reasons.” Rules that prevent the organization from qualifying for Title X funding “hinder Vita Nuova’s efforts to raise funds and build a network of providers,” according to the complaint. The group is “preparing to apply for Title X grants at the next available opportunity.”
