An Indiana court has granted abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction on Indiana’s abortion ban, allowing abortions to resume in the state after the ban takes effect. ban on September 15.
The plaintiffs asked the court to temporarily halt the near-total ban until the court issues a final decision in their lawsuit, determining whether it violates the Indiana Constitution.
The ban makes abortion a Level 5 crime, allowing only three exceptions where a woman’s life is in danger, the fetus is diagnosed with a fatal abnormality or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The near-total ban replaced a previous 22-week abortion ban.
The ban also eliminates abortion clinics in the state.
Providers who violate the ban will have their license revoked and could face between one and six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Indiana was the first state to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, removing federal protections for the right to abortion.
The lawsuit alleges that the abortion ban violates the state constitution in three ways: infringing residents’ right to privacy, violating Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities, and violating the normal course of law clause because of its unconstitutionally vague language.
Abortion-rights protesters demonstrate outside the Senate chambers shortly before the vote to accept Senate Bill 1, which passed the House earlier in the day, making the Indiana legislature the first in the country to restrict abortions, in Indianapolis, on August 5, 2022.
Cheney Orr/Reuters, FILE
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 31 against members of the state’s Medical Licensing Board and county prosecutors by Planned Parenthood, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Indiana and WilmerHale on behalf of abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, Women’s Med Group Professional Corp and All-Options. .
“We knew this ban would cause irreparable harm to Hoosiers, and in a single week it did just that. We are grateful the court provided much needed relief to patients, clients and providers, but “This fight is far from over. Indiana lawmakers have made it clear that this harm, this cruelty, is exactly the reality they had in mind when they passed SB 1,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement Thursday.
The lawsuit alleges that the ban “will dramatically limit access to abortion care, barring nearly all pregnant women [residents] to access care in Indiana” and forcing “thousands” of residents to travel out of state to seek abortion care.
It also alleges that women will be forced to incur more medical expenses as pregnancies progress, as the cost of an abortion procedure increases as the pregnancy progresses.
The lawsuit also warns that patients unable to travel “will resort to self-managing their abortion outside of the medical system” or be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will.
