Pennsylvania high court revives case challenging limits on Medicaid coverage for abortions

By MARC LEVY
Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court says a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. Monday’s 3-2 decision overturns the lower court’s ruling and puts aside an earlier state Supreme Court decision. The high court’s majority said Monday that prior court decisions did not fully consider the breadth of state constitutional protections against discrimination. The lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood and other operators of abortion clinics says the law unconstitutionally discriminates against poor women. Abortion is legal in Pennsylvania under state law through 23 weeks of pregnancy.