INDIANAPOLIS - A county judge ruled Wednesday that pregnant women who qualify for Medicaid can be reimbursed for abortions deemed medically necessary.
Current state law allows Medicaid funds to be used for abortions when the woman's life is in danger or when the woman is a victim of rape or incest, but not in other circumstances.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Susan Macey Thompson found the current state rules unconstitutional, saying that if the state chooses to provide Medicaid abortion funding in stipulated cases, it also must provide funding for medically necessary abortions.
''The current Medicaid funding scheme allows the state to substitute its judgment for that of learned medical professionals in an effort to promote a particular moral agenda that disfavors abortion,'' Thompson wrote in her decision. ''This contravenes the Indiana Constitution and specifically violates the privileges and immunities clause.''
A phone message left for Geoffrey Slaughter, a lawyer for the attorney general's office, was not returned.
Andrew Stoner, spokesman for the state Family and Social Services Administration, which administers Medicaid funds, said attorneys were awaiting a copy of the ruling and would withhold comment.
The Clinic for Women in Indianapolis and Women's Pavilion in South Bend brought the suit in August 1999. The clinics argued the state's Medicaid policy discriminated against low-income women who suffered from certain medical conditions.
In Indiana, pregnant women on Medicaid receive full coverage for prenatal care, delivery, up to 60 days of post-partum care and other conditions that may complicate a pregnancy.
''What we argued, and what the judge agreed, is that it is unconstitutional ... to prohibit reimbursement or funding for medically necessary abortions when you cover all other necessary medical care,'' said Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, a New York agency that assisted with the lawsuit.
The clinics argued that women with conditions such as cancer, diabetes or multiple sclerosis would risk permanent health problems if forced to carry their pregnancies to term, Amiri said.
Similar challenges were filed in 20 other states. Counting Wednesday's the Indiana ruling, judges in 15 of those cases have declared funding restrictions violate state constitutions.
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On the Net:
Indianpolis/Marion County site: http://www.ci.indianapolis.in.us/
National Right to Life Committee: http://www.nrlc.org
National Abortion Rights Action League: http://www.naral.org/