Roe v. CaseyRoe v. Casey
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Bechtle
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
BECHTLE, District Judge.
Presently before the Court are the motions of J. Edward Lynch, M.D. (“Lynch”), Thomas F. Toomey, M.D. (“Toomey”), and Charles F. Dougherty (“Dougherty”) (collectively, “movants”) to intervene as defendants, pursuant to
The action in which Lynch, Toomey and Dougherty seek to intervene as defendants was brought by: (1) several pregnant, indigent females, each of whom has been certified by a physician as needing an abortion to preserve her health and is otherwise eligible for medical assistance, who are suing on their own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated; (2) three physicians licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who specialize in the field of obstetrics and gynecology and who perform medically necessary abortions for patients requiring them, two of whom bring this action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated; and, (3) several Pennsylvania not-for-profit corporations which either provide obstetrical and gynecological health care or which represent medical and public assistance recipients, including those for whom abortions have been and potentially will be certified as being medically necessary. Plaintiffs’ action, brought pursuant to
In support of their motions to intervene as defendants in the proceedings before us, the movants claim the following interests in the subject matter of this litigation: (1) the interests of all movants, as physicians, citizens, taxpayers and legislator, in supporting the policies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as expressed in Public Acts 16A and 148, and in objecting to the expenditure of their tax dollars to finance abortions for reasons other than to save the life of the mother; (2) the interest of Toomey and Lynch, as physicians, citizens and taxpayers in objecting on grounds of conscience to participation in abortions or to possibly being compelled through the use of their federal and state tax dollars to finance abortions; (3) the interest of Lynch and Toomey, as obstetricians and gynecologists who regularly treat pregnant women who carry their pregnancies to term, whose professional and economic interests in their patients may or will be seriously impaired by the outcome of this case; (4) the interest of Toomey, as an obstetrician and gynecologist who treats, inter alia, pregnant women who are eligible for medical assistance, whose professional relationship with his patients may be impaired if his patients were able to procure abortions paid for by medical assistance; and, (5) the interest of Dougherty, as a citizen, taxpayer and legislator who was a member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania during the passage of Public Acts 16A and 148, and as a cosponsor of Public Act 148, in ensuring that Acts of the Legislature and the legislative will of the people are properly interpreted by, and defended before, this Court.
(a) Intervention of Right. Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action:
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(2) when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and he is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant’s interest is adequately represented by existing parties.
To establish that they are entitled to intervene as of right, the movants must demonstrate that: (1) they have a sufficient interest in the matter and that their interest would be affected by the disposition; (2) that their interest is not adequately represented by the existing parties; and, (3) that their application to intervene was timely. Comm. of Pa. v. Rizzo, 530 F.2d 501, 504 (3d Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Fire Officers Union v. Pa., 426 U.S. 921, 96 S.Ct. 2628, 49 L.Ed.2d 375 (1976). We find the failure of the movants to satisfy the first element of this standard to be dispositive of the motion to intervene before us.
As many courts have noted, a litigable “interest” for purposes of
After careful consideration of the interests asserted by the movants in support of their
Nor do we find the interests of Dougherty, as legislator, member of the General Assembly and cosponsor of Public Act 148, to be sufficiently substantial, direct or legally protectable interests to warrant intervention. The issue before us is not whether Public Acts 16A or 148 were duly and lawfully enacted, see McRae v. Mathews, 421 F.Supp. 538, 540 (E.D.N.Y.1976), vacated and remanded sub nom. Califano v. McRae, 433 U.S. 916, 97 S.Ct. 2993, 53 L.Ed.2d 1103 (1977), in light of Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 97 S.Ct. 2376, 53 L.Ed.2d 484 (1977), and Beal v. Doe, 432 U.S. 438, 97 S.Ct. 2366, 53 L.Ed.2d 464 (1977), but whether those Acts improperly conflict with a federal statute or the United States Constitution. Finally, while the interests of Toomey, Lynch and Dougherty as taxpayers who object to the expenditure of their federal and state tax dollars to fund abortions other than those necessary to save the life of the mother might, in a different context, support intervention, they are too indirect and remote to support intervention in the present case. The Legislature of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has apportioned a specific amount of money for medical assistance, see Public Act 16A, and the movants have not demonstrated that they will suffer any out-of-pocket tax losses if this case is decided adversely to their avowed interests in opposing abortions. See Fuller v. Volk, 351 F.2d 323 (3d Cir. 1965); Cf. Gravel v. Laird, 347 F.Supp. 7, 9 (D.D.C. 1972); but see McRae v. Mathews, supra, 421 F.Supp. at 540.
Turning to the motion of Lynch and Toomey for appointment as guardians
ad litem
for unborn children, pursuant to
Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, the movants’ motions to intervene and for appointment as guardians ad litem will be denied.
The Court welcomes the movants to submit their legal arguments to this Court in the form of a brief amicus curiae.
An appropriate Order will be entered.