The state Supreme Court declined a rehearing in the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Planned Parenthood, resulting in Indiana’s near-total abortion ban going into effect.
In a 4-1 decision on Monday, the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the prohibition, declaring that Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers “cannot show a reasonable likelihood of success” in their fight to end abortion restrictions.
The decision comes more than a year after Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the legislation after the 2022 special legislative session. The ruling will ratify the court’s finding from June 30 that the abortion ban signed last year does not violate the state constitution.
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- Indiana’s Near-total Abortion Ban Set To Take Effect
- The Indiana AG Applauds The Court’s Decision
- The Abortion War In Indiana
Indiana’s Near-total Abortion Ban Set To Take Effect
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According to Rush’s judgement, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood requested the court keep the injunction preventing the ban from taking effect. At the same time, they sought another injunction in the trial court.
Despite the weeks of legal ambiguity, state healthcare providers had been monitoring the abortion law since it was set to go into force on August 1. According to court spokesman Kathryn Dolan, the statute would go into force within days after the June 30 judgement upholding the ban is certified.
The Indiana AG Applauds The Court’s Decision
Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a prepared statement that his agency has supported the statute at every step. “This is great news for Hoosier life and liberty,” he stated.
“We defeated pro-abortion advocates who attempted to interject their views in a state that voted for life.” The ACLU of Indiana’s executive director, Jane Henegar, said in a statement that it is a “dark day” in the state’s history.
“We have seen the horrifying impact of bans like this across the country, and the narrow exceptions included in this extreme ban will undoubtedly put Hoosiers’ lives at risk,” Henegar said.
“Everyone should have the fundamental right to control their own body, and politicians’ personal views should play no part in this personal decision.”
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The Abortion War In Indiana
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which terminated Roe v. Wade and returned control over abortion legislation to the states, Indiana was the first state in the country to sign new abortion restrictions into law in 2022.
According to the statute, there are three exceptions to the state’s abortion ban: Fatal fetal malformations, where the mother’s life or health is jeopardized up to 20 weeks after fertilization, and rape or incest up to 10 weeks after fertilization.
Pregnant women cannot be arrested for having an illegal abortion, but providers who execute the procedure face losing their licence.
The law passed last year restricts abortions to hospitals. According to the state’s annual terminated pregnancy report, most of the more than 9,500 abortions performed in Indiana happened in outpatient clinics, with fewer than 200 procedures performed in hospitals.
Following the state Supreme Court’s June 30 decision, the ACLU of Indiana — on behalf of abortion clinics — petitioned the court to reconsider its judgement in July and asked for the ban to be lifted while legal processes were underway.
Credit: AP Photos
Last year, the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of plaintiffs who claimed that their religions allow for abortion and that denying them such care violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That case has been appealed, and arguments are planned for December before the state Supreme Court.
The Abortion Debate In The United States
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, several conservative states have prohibited or attempted to abolish abortion.
Before the United States Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, practically every state’s abortion legislation permitted people to have the procedure until roughly 24 weeks into a pregnancy, the standard practice established by the Supreme Court in the 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Abortion laws differ by state, leaving the medical practice to state legislators and courts. More than 25 million pregnant women live in states with abortion restrictions or prohibitions.
Abortion is illegal in the majority of Republican-led states. In 25 states, laws prohibiting or restricting abortion access have been implemented, with 14 outlawing the operation in most circumstances at any stage of pregnancy.
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Abortion is still permitted in 25 states until at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. Twenty Democratic-leaning states have taken steps to protect abortion access.
The ACLU and Planned Parenthood requested a rehearing at the end of July to clarify the law’s exemptions.
However, in an opinion, Chief Justice Loretta Rush ruled that the parties requesting a rehearing in the case did not “properly” express their worries about the impact of the abortion statute on Hoosier women seeking medical care for significant health issues or on health care providers.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn