In a controversial decision about a controversial practice, a judge in Kansas dismissed a lawsuit that would have forced the state to stop financing abortions for Medicaid beneficiaries. (Medical News Today)
The case was unusual. The state attorney general in Kansas, Phill Kline, sued the governor and several other individuals in an effort to establish that life begins at conception so the unborn would be protected as individuals under the state constitution.
The judge made no determination of when life begins but said that under federal law, states participating in the Medicaid program must allow abortions in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother’s life. Federal law trumps state law.
This case is an example of the far-reaching effects of Roe v. Wade. If the case were overturned, states could make their own determination about abortions.
The state’s Medicaid budget is $2.2 billion; 60 percent is funded by the feds. In an interesting twist, the Kaiser Network reports that the attorney general might have inadvertently sued himself:
Badgerow, who on Monday appeared before Shawnee County District Court Judge David Bruns seeking to dismiss the suit, said Kline oversees the state Crime Victims Reparations Board — which also could provide funding for rape and sexual assault survivors to cover the cost of an abortion — and therefore could be a defendant in his lawsuit.
Kline said he won’t file an appeal unless the legislature requires it.
