An Indiana judge issued a preliminary injunction on a new abortion law that went into effect last week. Indiana had a near-total ban on abortion for one week before the judge blocked it. Abortion clinics can still do abortion procedures while litigation over the law plays out. The abortion ban saved 161 babies a day. When the judge blocked the ban, they put hundreds of lives at stake.
According to the Wall Street Journal, debate in the Indiana legislature over the state’s abortion ban was at times heated—including shouting matches between senators on the floor—as lawmakers weighed dozens of proposed amendments. The bill initially faced opposition from antiabortion groups and many GOP legislators, who said it didn’t go far enough. Some Republicans sought to find a compromise with Democratic lawmakers who opposed the near-total ban. They pitched a ban on most abortions after 13 weeks of pregnancy, which was eventually rejected.
In her opinion, she claimed the abortion ban violates that section of the state constitution “by making that autonomy largely contingent upon first experiencing extreme sexual violence or significant loss of physical health or death.”
She claimed that “there is a reasonable likelihood that decisions about family planning, including decisions about whether to carry a pregnancy to term” are included in the state’s constitution.
“[T]here is a reasonable likelihood that this significant restriction of personal autonomy offends the liberty guarantees of the Indiana Constitution,” Hanlon wrote, saying she thinks the abortion businesses that challenged the ban “will prevail” in their lawsuit.
But Indiana Right to Life CEO Mike Fichter says there is nothing in the state constitution that protects abortion.
“Today’s blockage of Indiana’s new law means over 161 unborn children will continue to lose their lives to abortion every week this injunction stays in effect. We are encouraged by the judge’s acknowledgement of the state’s legitimate interest in protecting unborn babies and are hopeful the blockage will be brief.”
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