Topeka ? A judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that sought to end state-funded abortions for Medicaid recipients.

Shawnee County District Judge David Bruns said Atty. Gen. Phill Kline had no valid legal claim to sue Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and administration officials over the issue. Kline had argued that Medicaid-funded abortions violated the state constitution.

Bruns noted that federal law requires states participating in the Medicaid program to allow abortion in cases of rape and incest or when the mother’s life is in danger, but prohibits it in other instances. The judge said because the state participates in Medicaid, it must follow federal law, which trumps the state constitution.

“To the extent that the federal government has ‘occupied the field,’ all of the branches of state government are required to yield to the laws and regulations of the United States of America,” Bruns wrote in his 24-page opinion. “This is true even in cases in which the majority of citizens in a state may disagree with the action taken by the federal government.”

The lawsuit was prompted by the House, which in 2002 ordered the attorney general’s office to file it. State law requires that office to seek settlement of a legal controversy when ordered by at least one legislative chamber.