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U.S. Military Must Pay for Abortion
ABC NEWS ^ | June 1 | Associated Press

Posted on 06/01/2002 3:48:59 AM PDT by mdittmar

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. military to pay for the abortion of a fetus that was developing without a brain.

U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner ruled Thursday that the government could not refuse to pay for the abortion on moral grounds. But the decision applies only to fetuses with anencephaly, a condition in which the baby has no brain and survives for only a few days.

The case involved Maureen M. Britell, whose husband was in the military when she had an abortion at New England Medical Center in 1994.

"I'm happy. I'm just hoping that it will stick," said Britell, a former Massachusetts resident who now heads Voters for Choice in Washington, D.C.

Britell was covered by the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Service, known as CHAMPUS. A 1970s law bans federal funding of most abortions, and CHAMPUS does not pay for abortions unless the mother's life is in danger.


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To: Always Right
Hard to argue in this case. The baby has no hope and can only endanger the mother.

As the saying goes: Hard cases make bad law.

21 posted on 06/01/2002 8:36:48 AM PDT by DallasMike
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To: SlickWillard
I am with you on the prolife issue. And I agree with you in this case.

But I think that framing our argument around saving money ["our tax dollars at work"] is a losing argument, and does not emphasize the importance of all human life the way you did in your post.

22 posted on 06/01/2002 8:49:00 AM PDT by 11th Earl of Mar
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To: mdittmar
Do you think we should deny military personel coverage for smoking related illness?

If the military is going to be the battleground for social change, then it could happen. Or any of the other pet causes of the left.

I think we should let the military personel alone and seek social change at other venues.
23 posted on 06/01/2002 8:56:07 AM PDT by self_evident
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To: SlickWillard
Sadly true.........precident being set every day IMHO.

Stay Safe !

24 posted on 06/01/2002 8:56:37 AM PDT by Squantos
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To: Free_at_last_-2001
Very astute observation...the ongoing 2nd amendment squabble in DC is a perfect example of this. The left is very very good at this.
25 posted on 06/01/2002 9:03:24 AM PDT by wardaddy
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To: anniegetyourgun
Today it only applies in this case.....tomorrow.....

Exactly .. as I feel sorry for this women and her baby .. the Military or any part of our government should not be paying for abortions

These women want an abortion I cannot stop them .. but I don't want my tax dollars to pay for it

26 posted on 06/01/2002 9:15:55 AM PDT by Mo1
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To: mdittmar
L?4?udgment that needs to be overturned. This progress down the road of human life valuation is precisely what went before the rise of National Socialism in Germany before the Second World War and achieved its end in the death camps of the Holocaust. We keep repeating Germany's mistakes over and over again, and Nazi logic is used by American leftists on everything from therapeutic cloning to this. After we are done embracing this way of thinking, we too will sit in ruins on the dustheap of nation states.
27 posted on 06/01/2002 9:16:54 AM PDT by Siobhan
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To: wita
This would almost be a no-brainer...

That might not have been the best possible choice of words, considering the circumstances in this particular case....

If you did so intentionally, nevermind.

-archy-/-

28 posted on 06/01/2002 9:23:57 AM PDT by archy
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To: GovernmentShrinker
fyi
29 posted on 06/01/2002 9:27:20 AM PDT by Free the USA
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To: Mo1
"I feel sorry for this women and her baby
These women want an abortion I cannot stop
but I don't want my tax dollars to pay for it

" So, you would rather the military laid out a couple of hundred thousand
dollars to let a baby without a brain linger for a few weeks?
Nevertheless, my view is "I don't want my tax dollars to pay for it."

30 posted on 06/01/2002 9:28:09 AM PDT by APBaer
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To: mdittmar
... anencephaly, a condition in which the baby has no brain and survives for only a few days.

I'm not sure how a baby could survive *at all* with no brain. However,

anencephaly : congenital absence of all or a major part of the brain -- Webster's III.

31 posted on 06/01/2002 9:28:15 AM PDT by dighton
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To: mdittmar
U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner ruled Thursday that the government could not refuse to pay for the abortion on moral grounds.

I thought morality didn't matter in abortion cases. This opens a whole new door.
Is mass murder of the pre-born moral? What is the definition of moral? It certainly isn't tearing a human life from the womb now is it?
Morality has now set a legal president in a court of law. Is it moral for a woman to kill a mans unborn child? It's half his. Is it moral to steel that life from another?

32 posted on 06/01/2002 9:41:00 AM PDT by concerned about politics
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To: APBaer
You have your opinion .. I have mine
33 posted on 06/01/2002 9:44:49 AM PDT by Mo1
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To: mdittmar
The government has no place getting involved in abortion funding. Period. Next thing you know, we'll be killing all those without the gene for blond hair and blue eyes. Sound familiar?
34 posted on 06/01/2002 9:51:47 AM PDT by concerned about politics
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To: Mo1
"You have your opinion .. I have mine"

Fine, just don't expect me to cheer your spending the taxpayers' hundreds
of thousands so you can amuse yourself with your opinion.

35 posted on 06/01/2002 10:01:45 AM PDT by APBaer
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To: mdittmar
Anencephalic babies are NOT doomed to death. Here is an example:

Faith Aminah Shabazz - Faith was diagnosed with anencephaly while still in the womb. Her mother, Margo, chose to carry her to term. Faith was born in March of 2001. Faith is still alive today.

There are more at this link.

Just because a child's life is inconvenient for the parents (or society) or shorter than the parents (or society) would like, is no reason (or excuse) to murder an innocent child. According to the "logic" used by this judge (and his supporters) we should kill anyone who can be shown to have a "projected life span" of only a few days. That is evil.

36 posted on 06/01/2002 10:30:16 AM PDT by jimkress
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To: Free_at_last_-2001
This is the thin end of the wedge - hard cases make bad law! - Liberals know this it is their best tactic.

It is, they do, they do, and it is.

This is the kind of case that could just as easily be used to justify partial-birth abortions where the goal is to violently scramble and suck out the normal-sized brains of living, healthy unborn children.

Well, I'll leave now before Laz comes and accuses me of injecting an "irrelevant" partial-birth-abortion-of-healthy-babies post into a taxpayer-supported-abortion-of-unhealthy-babies thread.

37 posted on 06/01/2002 10:43:56 AM PDT by Kevin Curry
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To: Lazamataz
Come, Grand Poobah, and tell us what we may and may not post. We're lost without your guidance.
38 posted on 06/01/2002 10:47:03 AM PDT by Kevin Curry
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To: mdittmar
LIFE

39 posted on 06/01/2002 11:02:50 AM PDT by Cindy
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To: 11th Earl of Mar
Even I support the abortion in this case. But, I don't support the govt. fitting the bill.
40 posted on 06/01/2002 11:44:11 AM PDT by rwfromkansas
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