Pennsylvania Supreme Court opens the door to public funding for abortion
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Justice Christine Donohue of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered that the case, which was previously dismissed, be reargued before the state's Commonwealth Court. / Credit: Public Domain|WikimediaCNA Staff, Jan 30, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Monday revived a 2019 lawsuit brought by a number of abortion providers in the state that challenges, on discrimination grounds, a longtime state law barring public funding for most abortions. In a 219-page ruling Jan. 29, the state high court reversed an earlier dismissal of the lawsuit, sending it back to the Commonwealth Court, one of the state's two appellate courts. At issue is Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act, in place since the 1980s, which restricts the use of state and federal funds for abortion except "when necessary to avert the death of the mother" or in cases of rape or incest. The abortion providers bringing the lawsuit had argued, among other things, that Pennsylv...
Justice Christine Donohue of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered that the case, which was previously dismissed, be reargued before the state's Commonwealth Court. / Credit: Public Domain|Wikimedia
CNA Staff, Jan 30, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on Monday revived a 2019 lawsuit brought by a number of abortion providers in the state that challenges, on discrimination grounds, a longtime state law barring public funding for most abortions.
In a 219-page ruling Jan. 29, the state high court reversed an earlier dismissal of the lawsuit, sending it back to the Commonwealth Court, one of the state's two appellate courts.
At issue is Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act, in place since the 1980s, which restricts the use of state and federal funds for abortion except "when necessary to avert the death of the mother" or in cases of rape or incest.
The abortion providers bringing the lawsuit had argued, among other things, that Pennsylvania's policies regarding the use of federal funds unfairly singled out women, since "there is no medical condition specific to men for which medical assistance denies coverage."
The Commonwealth Court had previously dismissed the lawsuit in 2021 on the grounds that it was bound by Pennsylvania Supreme Court precedent; the state Supreme Court had previously upheld the abortion restrictions in 1985.
The majority ruling this week found that Pennsylvania's law barring public funds for most abortions "discriminates against those women who choose to exercise their fundamental right to terminate a pregnancy" and that abortion providers have standing to sue the state over the policy.
The ruling does not immediately change abortion policy in Pennsylvania. Rather, the state Supreme Court ruling sends the case back to the Commonwealth Court for further review. Abortion is presently legal in Pennsylvania up to 24 weeks in pregnancy, or later in pregnancy if the life of the mother is at risk.
Seventeen states use public state funds to pay for abortions, despite a federal policy known as the Hyde Amendment that since 1976 has prohibited the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortion. States that want to pay for abortions through their Medicaid program could do so using their own funds and are not reimbursed by the federal government.
The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, which advocates for policy in the state on behalf of the Catholic bishops, said it is working on a formal response to the state Supreme Court's ruling.
In a brief statement to CNA on Tuesday, Eric Failing, the conferences's executive director, noted that it is "a complex case with a lot of decisions so we are going through it very carefully."
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Father Eduardo Chávez has been immersed in the study and dissemination of the message of the Virgin of Guadalupe for more than 40 years. / Credit: David Ramos/ACI PrensaACI Prensa Staff, May 14, 2024 / 15:52 pm (CNA).Father Eduardo Chávez, director of the Higher Institute of Guadalupan Studies and postulator of the cause for canonization of St. Juan Diego, was recently confirmed as "master Guadalupan theologian" by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, the primatial archbishop of Mexico.The decision was made May 9 in conjunction with the Chapter of the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, headed by its rector, Father Efraín Hernández.Chávez, who also holds a doctorate in Church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome, shared with ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, his gratitude for this appointment, committing himself to "deepen knowledge of the Guadalupan event, to disseminate it throughout the world."Chávez noted that "the Virgin of Guadalupe places Je...
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null / ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 16:22 pm (CNA).An English pediatrician who led a comprehensive review of the safety and efficacy of prescribing transgender drugs to children is warning that health associations in the United States may be misleading the public.In an interview with the New York Times published on Monday, Dr. Hilary Cass warned there is no comprehensive evidence to support the routine prescription of transgender drugs to minors with gender dysphoria. Cass published the independent "Cass Review," commissioned by the National Health Service in England, which prompted England and Scotland to halt the prescription of transgender drugs to minors until more research is conducted.As England, Scotland, and other European countries scale back their use of transgender drugs for minors, most doctors' associations and health associations in the U.S. continue to endorse these medical inter...
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Members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, biological women's sports activist Riley Gaines, and lawyers from the Independent Women's Law Center approach the 10th Circuit Courthouse in Denver on May 14, 2024. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Independent Women's ForumWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 14, 2024 / 18:11 pm (CNA).Six members of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Wyoming are suing their sorority for admitting a man who identifies as a woman.Represented by the Independent Women's Law Center (IWLC), the sisters argued their case before a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on Tuesday. The women are alleging that the sorority's decision in fall 2022 to admit a man, Artemis Langford, violated its bylaws, which state that all members be women. The sisters have also said that Langford has harassed them in their sorority house by watching them change, taking photos, and asking "invasive" sexual questions. Allie Coghan, a Kappa Kappa Gamma a...