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What was the significance of the Supreme Court case Maher v. Roe?

Maher v.

Roe was a landmark 1977 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state's ability to limit Medicaid funding for abortions to only those deemed "medically necessary."

The case was brought by two indigent women, "Roe" and "Poe," who challenged a Connecticut regulation that restricted Medicaid coverage for non-therapeutic abortions.

The Court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the regulation violated the right to privacy established in Roe v.

Wade, ruling that the state was not placing any "governmental obstacle" in the path of women seeking abortions.

The decision effectively allowed states to selectively fund childbirth over elective abortions, a policy known as the "Hyde Amendment" which was passed by Congress shortly after Maher v.

Roe.

Maher v.

Roe was seen as a significant setback for abortion rights, as it upheld states' ability to restrict access to abortion for low-income women who relied on Medicaid.

The ruling was based on the Court's interpretation that the Constitution does not require a state to "pay the medical expenses incident to a woman's exercise of her constitutional right to have an abortion."

Maher v.

Roe set an important precedent that the government has no affirmative duty to fund abortions, despite the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v.

Wade.

The decision was controversial, with a strong dissent from Justice Brennan who argued it effectively denied poor women their constitutional right to choose.

Maher v.

Roe was part of a series of Supreme Court cases in the late 1970s that chipped away at the scope of abortion rights, including Harris v.

McRae which upheld the Hyde Amendment.

The case has been criticized by legal scholars as an example of the Court's unwillingness to mandate government funding for the exercise of constitutional rights.

Maher v.

Roe has had lasting impacts, contributing to the growing divide between abortion access for women of means and those relying on Medicaid or other public insurance.

The decision highlighted the importance of the political process in determining the scope of abortion rights, as opposed to solely relying on judicial rulings.

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