Federal Courts Have Commonly Read Abortion Into Medicaid's "Mandatory Categories"

Federal Courts Have Commonly Read Abortion Into Medicaid's "Mandatory Categories"


Since the 1970s, federal courts have regularly interpreted the “mandatory categories of care” within Medicaid to include abortion and thus mandate abortion coverage. That judicial interpretation of Medicaid will be adopted by courts in interpreting federal health care legislation, unless abortion is expressly excluded.

The author goes on to cite cases, and ends:


Finally, in reading these decisions, it must be understood that a “medically necessary” abortion is—under the Supreme Court’s abortion doctrine—whatever an abortion provider, in his/her personal, subjective judgment, determines it to be. The terms “necessary” and “medically necessary” are virtually synonymous, because both vest the abortion provider, in his or her subjective judgment, with complete discretion to determine their meaning. As the lower federal courts have applied the terms, an abortion is “necessary” because a woman requests it, and it becomes “medically” necessary when the doctor agrees to it. Consequently, when these two terms are combined—“medically necessary” to preserve the “health” of the woman”—a “medically necessary” abortion means any abortion a provider agrees to perform for any reason.

This is NOT a long article, but it is very clear and easily understood.

Read the rest here.........