PROTECTING WOMENS' RIGHTS: Federal Court Stands in the Breach

By Mildred Robertson

The 7^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stood between the women of Indiana and a legislature that attempted to eradicate Planned Parenthood by blocking Medicaid funds. The Circuit Court upheld a lower court decision that found the 2011 law denied patients the right to choose their own health care provider. The Court acted as the Founders intended, serving as a neutral mediator and an effective counterbalance to the Indiana Legislature’s implementation of a law found to be unconstitutional.

The7th Circuit Court stated, "The defunding law excludes Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for a reason unrelated to its fitness to provide medical services, violating its patients' statutory right to obtain medical care from the qualified provider of their choice."

While this decision is of utmost importance to the women of Indiana, it has even greater ramifications for women across this nation. This Court made its decision based on fact and law rather than the highly partisan posturing that has clouded the facts of this case.

This  case does not represent our first experience in recent years where the Court rose above partisan politics and lived up to its calling to be a counterbalance for the executive and legislative branches of government. This was evidenced by John Roberts’ controversial stand on President Obama’s health care legislation. His actions surprised people on both the right and left of the issue.  At the end of the day, Justice Roberts was faithful to the Constitution, basing his ruling upon law rather than a partisan agenda. 

As the nation stands at the precipice of the 2012 election, the actions of the 7^th District Court and those of Justice Roberts should serve as a somber reminder of what is at stake on November 6. As we go to the polls this election year we must balance who will have the weighty responsibility of fashioning the Supreme Court for the next decade and beyond.

With four Supreme Court Justices in their seventies, it is a good bet that whoever wins in November will have a chance to fill at least one Supreme Court seat. That appointment could dramatically change the direction of a court that currently is closely divided between liberals and conservatives. That appointment could change how millions get health care, whether civil rights for women, African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and other minorities are rolled back, or whether personal morality will be codified into law regarding issues such as abortion or gay rights.  

This Court will make decisions that will intimately affect the lives of countless citizens across the nation.  So will the decision you make when you go into the voting booth this election year. Choose carefully.