Posted on 06/09/2006 4:57:30 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Court gives legal victory to abortion foes 12 minutes ago
A U.S. appeals court handed a legal victory on Friday to medical groups working on behalf of health-care providers who refuse to offer abortion services.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals allows private groups of health care providers to partner with the U.S. federal government to defend the federal Weldon Amendment from a lawsuit brought against it by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
The Weldon Amendment, which Lockyer says is unconstitutional, prevents federal, state and local governments from receiving federal funds if they discriminate against health-care providers that refuse to offer abortion services.
The court's decision allows the Alliance for Catholic Health Care and the Medical Groups, which represents health organizations opposed to abortion under nearly all circumstances, to work with the Bush administration to defend the rights of health-care providers opposed to abortion.
California's health code may be construed to require abortions in emergencies to preserve the life or health of a patient, so the state is challenging the Weldon Amendment to prevent the loss of federal funds in those cases.
The panel ruled the two health-care groups should be allowed to intervene in the lawsuit because, if the Weldon Amendment is declared unconstitutional, they may be forced to choose between their beliefs and losing medical licenses.
"Congress passed the Weldon Amendment precisely to keep doctors who have moral qualms about performing abortions from being put to the hard choice of acting in conformity with their beliefs, or risking imprisonment or loss of professional livelihood," Judge Alex Kozinski wrote for the panel.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The 9th Circus!? Doh!
9th circuit......okay....
A three judge panel. Must have gotten two good judges. Toss of the dice.
Maybe the three judge panel is made up of those crazy uncles everyone else would be keeping in the closet. Itr's the only explanation for the 9th following the law rather than the dictates of the left.
Will Lockyer do us all the favor of bringing this to the USSC?
Wouldn't it be grand to have this affirmed there?
(Denny Crane: "Every one should carry a gun strapped to their waist. We need more - not less guns.")
I think California IS sometimes an alternate universe.
How about this, impostors. The Bush administration has secretly replaced key members of the 9th circuit with Karl Rove selected look alikes.
Are the tin foil hat types at DU on to this yet?
The 9th Circuit?? I'd say Hell had frozen, but I was there the other day (MI) and it was pretty warm.
I wonder if it is not vital to the survival of our country?
If you were God, how long would you tolerate a country that, by law, demands health professionals to kill "the least of these, my children"?
I don't really get the whole argument , like so much of the pro death crowds thinking no logic is applied ...
Pregnancy is not a disease or something to be cured , it is a natural and necessary state for the continuance of the species... it requires no immediate medical care.. I have seen women squat in the rice fields of Bukidnon, have a baby and go back to work after a short siesta.
Terminating a pregnancy for any reason other than the life of the mother or to avoid serious life threatening health complications is just selfish... I am "pro choice" , however I believe the choice should be made before putting yourself in the position where you may become pregnant ,,, NOT AFTER!!
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