WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled Jan. 29 that a lower court needs to review its decision two years ago over a challenge to a decades-old state law that prevents Medicaid from covering the cost of most abortions.
The 3-2 decision by the state’s Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case on procedural grounds and put aside a previous state Supreme Court decision that had upheld the state law banning the use of state Medicaid funds for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
The justices said previous court rulings over this 1982 law about Medicaid abortion coverage did not fully consider the scope of state constitutional protections against discrimination.
Planned Parenthood and abortion center operators who challenged the state law in 2019 said it unconstitutionally discriminated against poor women.
The state’s high court considered that argument, saying in their opinion that women who obtain an abortion receive no government funding for reproductive care, while women who carry to term receive full coverage. The opinion also noted that 17 states cover abortion costs in their state Medicaid programs.
In Pennsylvania, abortion is allowed up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
“Today’s ruling is the first step toward ending discriminatory access to care, and we remain committed to removing every barrier to abortion,” Signe Espinoza, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania’s policy arm, said in a statement.
Maria Gallagher, legislative director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, the state affiliate of the National Right to Life organization said the “vast majority of Pennsylvanians do not want to see their hard-earned tax dollars spent on abortion, which is the taking of an innocent, unrepeatable human life.
“Research clearly indicates that, when taxpayer funding of abortions occurs, abortion totals skyrocket. More than 34,000 abortions took place in Pennsylvania in 2022, according to statistics from the PA Department of Health. That’s truly alarming,” Gallagher said in a statement.
She added that the women of Pennsylvania and their babies “need comprehensive care and support, not a blank check for taxpayer-funded abortions.”