Article Title
Abstract
This Article supports the court's position that there is no state constitutional right to state funding of abortion. It focuses on three areas often neglected by appellate courts. First, this article will look at the legal environment in which the Constitution of 1868 was adopted. As of 1868, the law of North Carolina would have been hostile to a claim of a right to abortion or a right to state funding of abortion. Abortion rights litigants offer several state cases as precedent for their position. Next, this article will demonstrate that many of these cases are not persuasive or are distinguishable. Those few decided on state constitutional grounds include persuasive dissents or are based on logical fallacies. By focusing on state court decisions in favor of their position, abortion rights litigants misdirect the courts from the fact that the great majority of American states do not pay for state funded abortions, except to the very limited extent required by federal law, and have not suffered a known legal challenge on state constitutional grounds. And finally, the history of North Carolina's State Abortion Fund will be examined along with the term "medically necessary," often used by courts, in the context of abortion funding.
Recommended Citation
Paul Stam, The End of the North Carolina Abortion Fund, 22 Campbell L. Rev. 119 (1999).