BLOOMINGTON — Planned Parenthood and others filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block Indiana’s new abortion ban just over two weeks before it is scheduled to take effect.
The lawsuit, filed in Monroe County Circuit Court by four healthcare providers and an OBGYN, argues that the ban violates right to privacy and equal privileges protections in the Indiana Constitution and “inflicts immediate and irreparable harm on Hoosiers seeking vital and time-sensitive healthcare.”
Earlier this month, Indiana became the first state in the nation to pass abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which essentially legalized abortion nationwide, The Associated Press reported.
The ban, which takes effect Sept. 15, includes some exceptions. Abortions would be permitted in cases of rape and incest, before 10-weeks post-fertilization; to protect the life and physical health of the mother; and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly.
Under the law, abortions can be performed only in hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals, meaning all abortion clinics would lose their licenses, according to wire reports. A doctor who performs an illegal abortion or fails to file required reports also would lose their medical license.
State legislators representing areas of Bartholomew County —Republicans Rep. Ryan Lauer Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus — voted in favor of the ban, also known as Senate Bill 1.
The lawsuit filed in Monroe County claims, among other things, that forcing women and girls to continue a pregnancy against their will prohibits the plaintiffs’ patients and clients from exercising their right to privacy, characterized the ban as an “unwarranted, unnecessary and overbearing governmental intrusion into their personal lives,” according to a copy of the lawsuit.
“S.B. 1’s total abortion ban strips away the fundamental rights of people seeking abortion care in Indiana in violation of the State Constitution,” the lawsuit states. “It will infringe on Hoosiers’ right to privacy, violate Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities and violate the Constitution’s due course of law clause through its unconstitutionally vague language.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
