Third and Eighth Circuits Rule on Medicaid-Funded Abortions

Extract

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has followed the prevailing view in the federal courts by holding that state Medicaid funds must cover the same kinds of abortions as provided for under the 1994 Hyde Amendment. On July 25, 1995, the court held that a Pennsylvania law was preempted to the extent that it restricted Medicaid funding for abortions beyond the limits set by federal law (Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women v. Knoll, No. 94-1954 (3d Cir. July 25, 1995)) by imposing additional procedures not prescribed by the Hyde Amendment.

Particularly, the court held that the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Acts (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §§ 3201-20 (1983 & Supp. 1994)), whch requires victims of rape and incest to report the crime to law enforcement officials before Medicaid abortion funding is made available, exceeded the reporting requirements set by the Hyde Amendment, which provides a waiver for patients who are physically or mentally unable to comply with the reporting requirement.