Indiana Pro-Life Group Glad Supreme Court Justice Theodore Boehm Retiring
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 26, 2010
Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) — Indiana Right to Life today delighted to hear that pro-abortion Indiana Supreme Court Justice Theodore Boehm has announced his retirement. The group is cautiously optimistic that Boehm’s replacement will not agree with Boehm’s views that the Indiana Constitution embraces the "right" to abortion.
IRTL informed LifeNews.com that Boehm embraced unlimited abortions and the notion that abortions should be funded with taxpayer dollars.
In his time on the Indiana Supreme Court, Boehm earned the reputation of an activist judge on the issue of abortion through two key abortion-related rulings.
In 2003, Boehm concurred with an opinion that expanded taxpayer funding for abortions through Medicaid in Indiana, stating, "denial of benefits to indigent women for medically necessary abortions is a violation of their state constitution."
And in 2005, Boehm dissented against an opinion upholding Indiana’s 18-hour waiting period before an abortion could be done.
"Article I, section 1 of the Indiana Bill of Rights includes the right of a woman to choose for herself whether to terminate her pregnancy," he claimed.
Indiana Right to Life president Mike Fichter responded to the retirement.
"We believe that Justice Boehm’s judicial philosophy on abortion is deeply flawed in its interpretation of the state constitution in relation to the rights of unborn children," he said. "Indiana’s founders did not intend a state constitution that protected a supposed right to taxpayer-funded abortions."
Boehm will retire on September 30, ending a 14-year career on the state’s highest court and giving pro-life Gov. Mitch Daniels his first chance to name a state high court justice.
The seven-member Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission meets with potential appointees and forwards three names to the governor, who makes the final selection.
Governor Evan Bayh, who backs abortion, appointed Boehm in 1996.
Related web sites:
Indiana Right to Life – https://protectinglife.com
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