Determined the constitutionality of a state regulation that denied Medicaid coverage of medically necessary or therapeutic abortions except in cases where the pregnancy was life threatening or resulted from rape or incest.
Full Case Title:
Year:
- Reproductive Rights
- Public Benefits and Poverty
Legal Momentun's Role:
- Authored Amicus Brief
Brief:
With the assistance of pro bono counsel at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, Legal Momentum filed an amicus brief in the Alaska Supreme Court arguing that the challenged regulation violated the Alaska Constitution's civil rights provision. The brief argued that the regulation constituted sex discrimination because no regulation governing covered services for Medicaid-eligible men similarly denied services when the care was otherwise necessary for health. On July 27, 2001, the Alaska Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the Alaska State Constitution's equal protection clause requires the state to fund medically necessary abortions.