ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 5, 1995 TAG: 9512050088
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Colorado's attempt to deny Medicaid-funded abortions for women impregnated by rape or incest was rejected by the Supreme Court on Monday.
The justices left intact a decision that forces states participating in the federal Medicaid program to pay for abortions sought by poor women who are victims of rape or incest.
In the state's appeal, Attorney General Gale Norton raised the possibility that a federal appeals court decision requiring such funding could force Colorado to drop out of the Medicaid program.
Some 300,000 needy people receive medical help in Colorado each year through the $700 million Medicaid program funded by the state and the federal government.
``For the cost of a very few abortion procedures each year, hundreds of thousands of citizens will suffer the loss of necessary medical services,'' Norton said.
At issue was a conflict between federal law and regulations on the one hand and a Colorado Constitution provision on the other.
Since 1976, Congress has limited the Medicaid money available for poor women seeking abortions. Until last year, only abortions necessary to protect women's lives were funded.
In 1994, U.S. lawmakers voted to permit the use of federal money to pay for abortions of women victimized by rape or incest even if their pregnancies are not life-threatening.
Congress imposes such funding restrictions through an annually renewed appropriations measure known as the Hyde Amendment, named for its chief sponsor, Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill.
In 1984, Colorado voters added to the state's constitution a provision that paralleled the Hyde Amendment - barring the spending of state money for abortions except those to save poor women's lives.
A group of abortion providers sued Colorado last year, contending that the state spending restriction conflicted with the federal policy.
A federal judge ruled that Colorado must pay for rape or incest abortions as part of its participation in the Medicaid program.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge's ruling in a decision binding on Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.
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