ACLU Pushing For State Funded Abortions
June 5th, 2007 by Charles S
The same organization that considers school vouchers unconstitutional because parents may use those vouchers (i.e. tax rebates) for Catholic schools, is now fighting another battle. Under the premise of ‘right to privacy’ the ACLU is arguing Medicaid should pay for abortions when the mother’s health (not life) is in jeopardy.
Recently a case in Georgia arose in which an unnamed woman filed a lawsuit against the State for refusing to pay for her abortion although her doctor recommended she terminate her pregnancy “because it would seriously jeopardize her health and probably lead to dialysis treatment during pregnancy”. The Fulton County Superior Court has already thrown this case out because the woman did not ask for a hearing before the Georgia Department of Community Health, which determines which abortions Medicaid will cover.
Louise Melling, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project said the state pays for prenatal care for poor women and should also pay when women decide not to continue a pregnancy. She calls it a double standard that unconstitutionally violates a woman’s right to privacy.
This has been the mantra of the pro-abortion movement ever since the Supreme Court somehow determined the 14th Amendment gave women a Constitutional right to have an abortion. In every argument ever brought in front of the Courts since that unfortunate ruling, the term “woman’s right to privacy” was inevitably used. But can “right to privacy” be used as a defense when the State is footing the bill?
This case is a byproduct of the ever expanding nanny state. The woman is arguing because the State would be willing to care for her had she chosen to keep the baby, they should also be willing to care for her because her doctor recommended she did not. At the same time she intends to argue it is unconstitutional for her to be forced to appear at a hearing which would determine if she was eligible for State funds.
What the ACLU wishes to do in this case is force the State to pay for all abortions for poor women who have any health problems related to their pregnancies. On the surface it does not appear to be that crazy a request, after all it is a woman’s health we are talking about here. The problem however is women, and doctors, have used vague health exceptions in the past to circumvent the law. In Kansas for example Dr. Tiller repeatedly uses ‘depression’ as a health exception to perform late term abortions.
This is why the State of Georgia wisely made a policy which allows for a health exception in the case of using State funds, but only if each individual case was approved by Department of Community Health.
ACLU Pushing For State Funded Abortions
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