Federal court rules on Hyde Amendment in Michigan case

In a ruling issued on July 18 (1994), the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan found that the state's near ban on abortion coverage under Medicaid violates federal law because it is more restrictive than the current version of the federal Hyde Amendment. Chief Judge Benjamin F. Gibson ordered Michigan to cover abortions in cases of rape and incest, even though a 1988 law adopted by a voter initiative and upheld in 1992 by the state Supreme Court prohibits public funding except in cases of life endangerment. Last October, Congress approved the fiscal year 1994 Medicaid budget and slightly expanded abortion coverage to include funding for abortions in cases of rape and incest, as well as life endangerment. Summit Medical Center v. Smith, a CRLP lawsuit that was consolidated with Planned Parenthood v. Engler, was the second case this year in which a federal court ruled on state obligations under current Medicaid law. In early May, in a similar CRLP case, US District Court Judge Edward Nottingham enjoined enforcement of an amendment to the Colorado Constitution on the same grounds (see RFN III/9). On June 1, a trial court judge ordered Montana to comply with the Hyde Amendment in an CRLP suit; a federal district court in Montana came to the same conclusion on June 20 in a case filed by Planned Parenthood. CRLP suits in federal court against states for non-compliance are still pending in Arkansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.