The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday Rejected Appeals by Louisiana and Kansas seeking to End Public Funding by those States to Planned Parenthood, a National Women's Healthcare and Abortion Provider, through the Medicaid Program.
The Justices left Intact Lower Court Rulings that Prevented the Two States from Stripping Government Healthcare Funding from Local Planned Parenthood Affiliates.
Three Conservative Justices: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch, Dissented from the Decision by the Nine-Member Court, saying it should have Heard the Appeals by the States.
The Case is One of a Number of Disputes working their way up to the Supreme Court over State-Imposed Restrictions on Abortion.
The Two States did Not Challenge the Constitutionality of Abortion itself.
Planned Parenthood's Affiliates in Louisiana do Not Perform Abortions, but some in Kansas do. Medicaid, the State-Federal Health Insurance Program for Low-Income Americans, Pays for Abortions Only in Limited Circumstances, such as when a Woman's Life is in Danger.
Louisiana and Kansas announced Plans to Terminate Funding for Planned Parenthood through Medicaid after an Anti-Abortion Group Released Videos in 2015 Purporting to Show Planned Parenthood Executives Negotiating the For-Profit Sale of Fetal Tissue and Body Parts. Planned Parenthood Denied the Allegations and said the Videos were Heavily Edited and Misleading.
The Organization's Affiliates in each State, as well as several Patients, Sued in Federal Court to Maintain the Funding.
Legal Battles over Other Laws from Republican-led States could reach the Court in the next year or two. Some Seek to Ban Abortions in Early Pregnancy, including Iowa's Prohibition after a Fetal Heartbeat is Detected. Others Impose difficult-to-Meet Regulations on Abortion Providers such as having Formal Ties, called Admitting Privileges, at a Local Hospital.
Viability, as the word has been used in U.S. Constitutional Law since Roe v. Wade, is the Potential of the Fetus to Survive outside the Uterus after Birth, Natural or Induced, when supported by Up-to-Date Medicine. Fetal Viability depends largely on the Fetal Organ Maturity, and Environmental Conditions. Another Definition for Viability, as used in the Medical Phrase Limit of Viability, is the Expectation that a Fetus has an Equal Chance of Surviving and Not Surviving Outside his or her Mother's Womb.
According to Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Viability of a Fetus means having Reached such a Stage of Development as to be Capable of Living, under Normal Conditions, Outside the Uterus. Viability Exists as a Function of Biomedical and Technological Capacities, which are Different in Different Parts of the World. As a Consequence, there is, at the Present Time, No Worldwide, Uniform Gestational Age that defines Viability.
Medical Viability - There is No Sharp Limit of Development, Gestational Age, or Weight at which a Human Fetus Automatically becomes Viable. According to Studies between 2003 and 2005, 20% to 35% of Babies born at 23 weeks of Gestation Survive, while 50% to 70% of Babies born at 24 to 25 weeks, and more than 90% born at 26 to 27 weeks, Survive.
It is Rare for a Baby weighing Less than 500g (17.6 ounces) to Survive.
A Baby's chances for Survival increase 3%-4% per day between 23 and 24 weeks of Gestation and about 2%-3% per day between 24 and 26 weeks of Gestation. After 26 weeks the rate of Survival Increases at a much Slower Rate because Survival is High already.
In 2018, because so many States, and the Supreme Court, hold the Abortion of Nonviable Children as a Legal Right, New Findings Raise Important Questions: Will the Widely-Accepted Age of Viability be changed to 22 weeks, and if so, when? And, does a Physician’s Bias in Favor of Abortion make them less likely to Offer Treatment to a Baby Delivered Earlier than the Status-Quo 24-week Viability Mark?
One thing is clear: no Argument for the Legality of Abortion stands on Firm Premises, the ever-changing Perception of Fetal Viability is just One of many Instances of the Shaky Ground on which the so-called “right” to Kill Children stands.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
