THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1980
Page
State OKs
Medicaid $
for abortions
United Press International
AUSTIN — The state Board of
Human Resources Tuesday autho
rized Medicaid payments for abor
tions on welfare recipients whose
doctors will certify the operations
“medically necessary.”
The board voted 3-0 in an
emergency action to okay govern
ment funds for abortions on welfare
recipients retroactive to Feb. 19.
The move brings Texas into com
pliance with the decision of a federal
district court in New York that last
month ruled unconstitutional the
strict limits Congress imposed on
use of government funds for abor
tions.
Dr. Emmett Greif, the Texas wel
fare agency’s deputy commissioner
for professional medical policy, said
the court ruling gives state officials
no choice but to approve payment for
abortions on any welfare recipient
whose doctor certifies the operation
is necessary in his professional judg
ment.
The state agency will require
documentation before paying, but
the decision on whether an abortion
is necessary because of a woman’s
physical, emotional, psychologicial
or familial condition is strictly a mat
ter for her and her doctor to deter
mine, Greif said.
“We have no way of telling a physi
cian how to practice medicine,”
Greif said. “We can only demand
documentation that the law was com
plied with.”
Greif said the new policy will not
permit abortions for family planning
or mere birth control. He predicted
the number of government-financed
abortions will not exceed 1,000 a
year.
“I don’t see it going up to any great
extent,” Greif said, noting that the
Texas Medicaid program paid for 30
therapeutic abortions during 1978
and 12 in 1979. “I don’t anticipate
anything like 3,000.”
Prior to August 1977 when Con
gress adopted the Hyde Amend
ment, the Texas Department of Hu
man Resources used Medicaid funds
to pay for as many as 3,000 abortions
annually.
Greif said the proportion of the
3,000 performed for medical reasons
was relatively small.
The state board voted to direct the
National Heritage Insurance Co.,
which currently administers Medi
caid payments for Texas welfare reci
pients, to notify doctors and hospit
als of the new rules on abortions.
The three-man board decided
against any effort to notify welfare
recipients of the rule changes.
Commissioner Jerome Chapman
estimated it would cost $80,000 to
mail notices to persons eligible for
such Medicaid services.
“We feel the money would be bet
ter spent on persons who are in need
of help, ” Chapman said.
“We feel the recipients are well
aware of the issue through the news
papers, radio and television,” Greif
said.
Costs of abortions probably will
average $400, Greif said, but the tot
al number will not be large enough to
require an increase in the premiums
the state pays for insurance coverage
on welfare recipients.
Church sues
school district
United Press International
AMARILLO — Forty Tour pupils
who belong to the Worldwide
Church of God have filed a $100,000
federal civil suit against the Amarillo
Independent School District, alleg
ing violations of their religious
freedom.
The suit challenges the school dis
trict’s policy, adopted in 1978 over
the church’s objections, of allowing
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SAFEWAY | and a little bit more
only two excused religious holiday
per year.
The lawsuit, filed last Frida)
alleges the district policy “arbitrary
ly” interferes with the students rigl
to exercise their religious beliefs.
The plaintiffs contend further th;
the policy violates the guarantees
religious freedom set forth in bo
the U.S. and Texas Constitutions.
Before 1978, the AlSD’s religiouj
holiday policy was less restrictive
When the policy was changed
Church of God minister Jeffre
Booth asked the school board to n
consider.
“We don’t want our children to b(
penalized for taking off from schoq
for religious observance,” he said.
Under current policy, student,
must make up work missed whethe
the absence was excused or unex
cused. But they “will not be giver
credit for the work” if the absence
was unexcused.
School superintendent Dr. B.J
Stamps says the policy was well cons
idered, however, before action wai
taken, and he thinks the decision is
good one.
Amoco wins
first round
United Press International
GALVESTON — Amoco Oil Cc|
has won the first round of its battle t
exclude striking employees from
federal team investigating a Feb. 13
Texas City refinery accident and wil
try to extend its victory today.
U.S. District Judge Hugh Gibsoi
Monday granted Amoco a temporarj
order denying the Occupationa
Safety and Health Administration ;
search warrant for the plant. Gibsoi
planned a hearing Wednesday tc
consider extending the ban.
The company objects to OSHA’:
plans to bring striking union cm
ployees into the refinery to help witl
the inquiry. Company official:
vowed to disobey if OSHA is given a
search warrant under those circums
tances.
OSHA answered that the law re-;
quires a worker to be involved in any
accident investigation.
The union has been on strike since
Jan. 8 and management and contract
technical personnel have been run-j
ning the Ampco refinery. The acci-l
dent occurred Feb. 13.
The company contends no union
member was on the job when the!
accident occurred and therefore no
union member should be included in
the investigation.
Police admit
to vulgarity
United Press International
AMARILLO — Jurors who heard
undercover agents testify they drank
beer, used vulgar language and ex
posed themselves before arresting a
prostitute, Tuesday assessed the
woman a maximum $2,000 fine and
one year in jail.
The Potter County Court-at-Law
jury deliberated about half an hour
before assessing punishment for!
Brenda Faye Ransom, 25, who had
been convicted of prostitution pre
viously.
During testimony Monday, two
agents for the Potter-Randall County
Metro Organized Crime Unit said
they bought beer and took some to
Miss Ransom’s residence “to have
booze” on their breaths.
Ultimately, “to prove we weren’t
cops,” the men admitted unzipping
their trousers and exposing them
selves.
Department
adds catfish
United Press International
WASHINGTON — The Agricul
ture Department issues reports on
production of a variety of items rang
ing from mushrooms and popcorn to
cows and pigs. Now it has added cat
fish to the list.
The department issued its first
periodic report on catfish farming
Monday, reflecting an increased in
terest in fish farming, or aquacul
ture.
A bonus is the report’s new retail-
price index for fish products. An in
dex of 17 canned and frozen-fish pro
ducts rose 0.2 percent from Decem
ber to January to a level 12.5 percent
above a year earlier.
Prices for whiting, cod and had
dock fillets as well as canned chunk
light tuna rose substantially, while
prices for halibut steak and fish sticks
dropped.
The new “Farm-Raised Catfish
Processor’s” report said domestic
production of farmraised catfish pro
cessed during January totaled 3.5
million pounds, up 16 percent from a
year earlier.
Freshwater catfish imports, which
all came from Brazil, totaled 1.6 mil
lion pounds.
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