North Carolina Attorney General Not Joining Suit Against Healthcare Law

April 19, 2010

North Carolina’s attorney general says the state will not join a lawsuit that seeks to overturn President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a letter to Gov. Beverly Perdue that health care is a policy decision that should be decided by elected representatives and not appointed federal judges. He said there’s ample time for elected officials to change the legislation since most provisions in dispute don’t take effect until 2013.

State GOP chairman Tom Fetzer accused Cooper of not standing up for the people of North Carolina.

“The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to force North Carolina’s citizens to purchase health insurance,” Fetzer said. “North Carolina needs an Attorney General who understands the Constitution and has the courage to fight for her citizens.”

More than a dozen attorneys general have joined a lawsuit that claims the federal government cannot force citizens to buy health coverage. They also argue the federal government is violating the Constitution by forcing a mandate on the states without providing money to pay for it.

Topics Lawsuits North Carolina

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