Pro-Life Legal Group Files Papers in Lawsuit Against Pro-Abortion Health Care
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 8, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The American Center for Law and Justice, a prominent pro-life legal group, filed an amicus brief with a federal court in Virginia against the pro-abortion health care law President Barack Obama signed. ACLJ is representing 28 members of Congress and more than 70,000 Americans.
The amicus brief supports the Commonwealth of Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care law.
The ACLJ brief contends the mandate forcing Americans to purchase health insurance is unprecedented and violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
"The individual insurance mandate represents an unconstitutional power-grab by the federal government – a clear violation of the Commerce Clause," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the ACLJ.
"From the very start, a majority of Americans never wanted this government-run health care law. And most Americans understand that including a provision forcing them – under penalty of law – to purchase insurance is wrong," Sekulow told LifeNews.com.
He continued, "We support the legal action taken by the Commonwealth of Virginia and other states that challenge this governmental over-reach. At the same time, we’re preparing a federal lawsuit directly challenging this troubling provision as well – a lawsuit that will be filed soon."
The attorneys general of 13 states immediately filed lawsuits against the pro-abortion health care bill President Barack Obama signed it. Dozens of other states joined the lawsuit in the weeks that followed.
Just seven minutes after Obama signed the measure into law, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum took the lead and filed the suit for his colleagues in court in Florida.
"The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage," the lawsuit says.
Portions of the bill begin in six months while other provisions don’t kick in until 2014, so courts have time to consider the constitutional challenge before the legislation takes effect.
Under the Senate health care bill that will be the main bill Obama and Democrats push through Congress, there is no ban on abortion funding. While some states can opt out of funding abortions under the plan, taxpayers in other states will be forced to pay for them.
But the bill contains other pro-abortion problems that are concerns for pro-life advocates.
The bill requires that at least one health care plan be promoted across the country that pays for abortions, more abortion funding would come via the affordability credits, and many of the so-called limits on abortion funding in the Senate bill are temporary and could expire or be overturned at a later date.
The Senate health care bill also pays for abortions under the Indian Health Service program.
And it contains the Mikulski amendment that would allow the Obama administration to define abortion as preventative care and force insurance plans to pay for abortions.
Finally, the Senate bill does not contain language needed to offer full conscience protection for pro-life medical workers and facilities.
The ACLJ filed its amicus brief in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District in Virginia in Richmond.
"Congress cannot pass just any law that seems most efficiently to address a national problem," the brief asserts. "Every federal law must derive from one of the grants of authority found in the Constitution. This the individual insurance mandate does not do."
The ACLJ brief also argues that the health care law would put a financial burden on states which will incur significant costs to implement a law that may be declared unconstitutional.
Some of the members of Congress that support the ACLJ legal brief include
Paul Broun, Todd Akin, Rob Bishop, John Boehner, Michael Burgess, Dan Burton, Eric Cantor, Mike Conaway, Mary Fallin, John Fleming, Virginia Foxx, Trent Franks and Scott Garrett.
Louie Gohmert, Bob Goodlatte, Jeb Hensarling, Walter Jones, Steve King, Doug Lamborn, Robert Latta, Michael McCaul, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Jerry Moran, Mike Pence, Jean Schmidt, Lamar Smith, Todd Tiahrt, and Zach Wamp are also represented.
Related web sites:
ACLJ – https://www.aclj.org
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