Ohio Pro-Lifers Sue To Make Sure 300,000 Poors Don't Get Medicaid, Because 'Life'

Well, that escalated quickly. On Monday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich threw away any hopes of ever being on a Republican national ticket and used This One Weird Governor Trick to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, in defiance of the state's Republican-controlled legislature. In response, six members of the legislature and two anti-abortion groups have sued to prevent the expansion, because tyranny, zygotes, and slut pills.

By going around the full legislature and sending the proposal to the Controlling Board, the suit argues, Kasich acted beyond his authority:

"The Ohio Controlling Board's expansion of Medicaid violates the clear limits on its own authority, and accordingly, also violates the clear limits of the Ohio Constitution," the court filing states.

And what does that have to do with "pro-life" groups? They have a very clear reason:

Cleveland Right to Life and Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati Inc. joined them because they oppose the use of federal funding for expansion and wanted the chance to debate the issue with the Legislature, according to the filing.

That seems pretty directly related to their core mission of stopping abortion, and it's certainly a compelling reason to keep 300,000 people from getting access to healthcare. After all, they're all certain that Obamacare magically repealed the Hyde Amendment and that the day-after pill does abortions (neither of which is true...do we still need to say that? Of course we do), so Medicaid expansion will undoubtedly Holocaust all the babbies.

In any case, even if Kasich's maneuver survives court challenges, it will only expand Medicaid through 2015, which is when the federal government will begin requiring states to begin chipping in for a portion of the expansion -- after that, it's up to the state to approve any continuation. Then again, if Ohio Republicans continue to make denying medical care to people their central reason for being, maybe they won't control the Legislature by then... yes, sorry, that was more wishful thinking on our part, now wasn't it?

[ TimesUnion.com via ThinkProgress ]