Current:Home > MyIndiana judge rules against abortion providers fighting near-total ban -VisionFunds
Indiana judge rules against abortion providers fighting near-total ban
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:06:39
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana county judge ruled Wednesday against abortion providers who are seeking to broaden access to the procedure under the near-total ban state lawmakers passed after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections in 2022.
The providers — including the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate — had sought a permanent injunction to expand the near-total ban’s medical exemptions and to block its requirement that abortions can only be performed at hospitals.
Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon, who conducted a three-day bench trial in late May in southern Indiana’s Monroe County, denied the providers’ request for the permanent injunction against both elements of the state’s law, known as S.B. 1.
“Significant and compelling evidence regarding the policy implications of S.B. 1 and its effect on medical professionals in particular was presented. However, the Court cannot substitute its own policy preferences for that of the Indiana General Assembly,” wrote Hanlon, an elected Republican from a different county who was appointed as a special judge in the case.
Indiana became the first state to enact tighter restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Rare exceptions to the near-total ban include when the health or life of the mother is at risk as well as in cases of rape, incest and lethal fetal anomalies in limited circumstances.
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban in June 2023, ending a broader legal challenge brought by the same plaintiffs, but said the state’s constitution protects a women’s right to an abortion when her life or health is at risk.
Indiana’s clinics stopped providing abortions ahead of the ban officially taking effect in August 2023.
The providers said that the ban’s exceptions for protecting health are written so narrowly that in practice, many doctors won’t end a pregnancy even when a woman’s condition qualifies under the statute. The state defended the statute and said it sufficiently protects women when health complications arise in pregnancy.
When asked Wednesday if they plan to appeal the ruling, the plaintiffs said they “are still evaluating all options.”
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America said in a joint statement with the ACLU of Indiana and other plaintiffs that the court’s ruling means “lives will continue to be endangered by Indiana’s abortion ban.”
“Already, Hoosiers with serious health complications have been forced to endure unjustifiable suffering due to miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other pregnancy-related issues or leave the state to access appropriate care,” the statement said.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita praised the judge’s ruling Wednesday. “Indiana’s pro-life law is both reasonable and constitutional, and we’re pleased the Monroe County Circuit Court upheld it,” he said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Indiana did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment on the ruling.
In a 50-page order, Hanlon said providers gave hypothetical scenarios but did not identify a situation where the health and life exemption or the hospital requirement prevented a woman from obtaining an abortion.
Hanlon agreed with the state’s argument that the health and life exemption constitutionally protects pregnant patients with “serious health risks,” but acknowledged the ill-defined standard has been challenging for physicians in a “politically charged environment” and under the threat of criminal liability. However, Hanlon said physicians do not have to wait until a woman is “clinically unstable to provide care.”
She wrote that some conditions outlined by the providers can be treated with interventions other than abortion depending on the severity of the health risk, such as medication, therapy and nutritional changes. She also rejected the argument from the providers that mental health conditions constitute serious health risks.
In rejecting the providers’ request to strike the hospital requirement, Hanlon said hospitals are better equipped to handle lethal fetal anomaly, rape, incest and serious health risks.
“The evidence demonstrates that many women receiving abortion care when they are seriously ill or at risk of becoming seriously ill will likely be receiving in-hospital care irrespective of the hospital requirement,” she wrote.
__
Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.
veryGood! (54115)
Related
- Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Ranking
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
Could your smelly farts help science?
What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz