Family Research Council filed brief in SCOTUS health care lawsuit
President Barack Obama (Pic by The White House, via Flickr) The influential anti-abortion and anti-gay group Family Research Council announced this week that it filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting that the health care reform law be struck down because it will “fund abortion,” among other reasons.
Jul 31, 2020465 Shares232.5K Views
The influential anti-abortion and anti-gay group Family Research Council announced this week that it filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting that the health care reform law be struck down because it will “fund abortion,” among other reasons.
Among the many allegations directed at the Obama administration’s health care reform law, right-wing groups have long accused the law of providing outright funding for abortions.
There are current laws, however, that outlaw the use of public monies for abortion through public health care programs such as Medicaid. There are exceptions to this law (the Hyde Amendment) strictly for instances of rape, incest, or a threat to a woman’s life. The health care law does not undo this already standing practice.
Furthermore, states were allowed to pass state-level bans on Affordable Care Act dollars funding abortions in private insurance plans, too. Florida was one of the states that enacted such a ban— even though it is one of the very few states not implementing the state exchangesin the law and is challenging the law in court.
“„Family Research Council (FRC) was joined today by 30 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in NFIB v. Sebelius, supporting two of the petitions for certiorari in that case, the first filed by the National Federation of Independent Business and the second by 26 states.
“„The Supreme Court brief was coauthored by Klukowski and eminent constitutional scholar Professor Nelson Lund of George Mason University. Of the amicus brief Klukowski made the following comments:
“„“We are honored that so many Members of Congress joined our brief. At first severability sounds arcane, but as we saw in the lower court it is the essential key to striking down Obamacare entirely. It’s not enough to only strike down the individual mandate. It’s only one section in a 450-section law. Hundreds of other provisions in Obamacare will kill jobs, ration healthcare and fund abortion, all while bankrupting healthcare providers and burdening America’s families.
“„“We look forward to building on our success regarding severability in the lower court, helping the excellent lawyers representing NFIB and the states persuade the Supreme Court why the individual mandate is one of those rare provisions requiring the entire law to go down.”
The Minnesota Independent’s Andy Birkey reportsthat another religious right group has also filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court asking that the law be struck down.
The Florida-led challenge to the health care reform law is set to be reviewed by the justices on Nov. 10, according to the legal resource SCOTUSblog.
Hajra Shannon
Reviewer
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