Life Links 5/28/13

The Supreme Court declined to hear the state of Indiana's appeal regarding their efforts to defund Planned Parenthood.

While federal law blocks the use of government funds to perform most abortions (with exceptions for rape, incest and woman's health), the Indiana ban went further by denying Medicaid funds for other purposes as well. In order to receive Medicaid funds, providers would have to create separate entities for their abortion services. Hospitals were excluded from the law.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago ruled that the ban on Medicaid funds was unwarranted because it was not related to Planned Parenthood's ability to perform medical services. But it upheld a ban on federal block grant funds. The high court will let both rulings stand.

The New York Times revealed the Archdiocese of New York pays for a health care plan which covers abortion for some of its union employees.              

The archdiocese agreed to cover its own health workers long before Cardinal Dolan became archbishop of New York, and even today insists that it has no choice. As a result, about 3,000 full-time workers at ArchCare, also known as the Catholic Health Care System, receive coverage for contraception and voluntary pregnancy termination through their membership in 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a powerful health care workers union, according to Dave Bates, a spokesman for the union.

An off-duty police officer who was working at Planned Parenthood was allegedly attacked by a truck driver and ended up shooting the truck driver.  The incident had nothing to do with abortion but rather the truck driver receiving two tickets. 

On Monday, eight-year veteran Merrillville Police Officer Curtis Minchuk was in uniform but off-duty working a security detail for Planned Parenthood, where Strand had parked his semitrailer-tractor truck for hours without permission and against Merrillville ordinance, police said.

When he returned to find two tickets, Strand became outraged and eventually began to attack Minchuk in the parking lot, beating him and fighting for his weapon, police said. Minchuk was able to regain control of his gun and shot Strand in the abdomen.

Minchuk has been in the news before.  Merrillville settled a lawsuit after a Minchuk and fellow officer allegedly used excessive force against a security guard.