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GEN: Rainy Night In GeorgiaFrom: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)Mon Jan 12 06:40:59 2004
Judge rejects Georgia clinics' request to fund 'medically necessary' abortions Medicaid January 12, 2004 2004 JAN 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A judge has denied a temporary restraining order requested by Georgia health clinics to allow women to have Medicaid-funded abortions for pregnancies that are threatening their health. Attorneys representing the Feminist Women's Health Center, Planned Parenthood of Georgia, and clinics around the state had sought the restraining order against Georgia's current statute that allows Medicaid to pay for abortions only if the pregnancy is life threatening or a result of rape or incest. During a December 16, 2003, hearing on the issue, attorney Louise Melling argued that a temporary injunction against the law was needed because dozens of women would be at risk if they don't have an abortion in the next few months. But the state argued that there was no evidence of an actual emergency to warrant the temporary restraining order. In his ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge M. Gino Brogdon sided with the state, saying, "such relief should not be granted unless the alleged injury is pressing, delay is dangerous, and there is no adequate remedy at law." Brogdon cited a lack of specific cases of the low-income women affected by the statute being denied abortions under Medicaid, or the filing of an administrative grievance against current abortion policies before seeking relief from the court. "All of the evidence contained in the affidavits filed by Plaintiffs reflects only generalized, speculative, or past harm allegedly incurred by the unidentified women discussed; there is no specific allegation of imminent harm for any particular individual," Brogdon wrote. State Medicaid director Mark Daniel Trail declined to comment on the ruling, only releasing the following statement: "The state prevailed and will continue with the current policy to cover abortions only when a woman's life is in danger or when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest." Melling, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Reproductive Rights Project, which represented the clinics, said her next step may be requesting a preliminary injunction or proceeding by way of summary judgment. "This is just the first stage," Melling said. "We'll continue to press the case forward as quickly as we can." Sixteen states now fund all medically necessary abortions, and many states go beyond the restrictions imposed by the federal Hyde amendment in 1976, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The federal measure limits funds for abortions to cases of rape, incest, and to save a woman's life. Some state Medicaid funds cover abortions for women with severe mental illness and other non life-threatening situations. Georgia's Medicaid program began covering abortions for life-threatening pregnancies in 1982 and extended the policy to pregnancies resulting from rape or incest in 1993. The clinics claim that denying funds to a low-income woman whose pregnancy was a danger to her health, even if not necessarily life threatening, would be violating her rights of privacy and equal protection guaranteed by the Georgia Constitution. This article was prepared by Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2004, Health & Medicine Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net. ©Copyright 2004, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.n 2004 is getting off to a great start. art
-- art fougner, md ich bin ein New Yorker
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