The REPORTER & WISH-TV
Planned Parenthood is suing to block Indiana’s new abortion law.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Monroe County, claims the ban on nearly all abortions passed by the General Assembly in July violates the Indiana Constitution.
The lawsuit claims Senate Enrolled Act 1 (Special Session) violates the state constitutional right to privacy and equal privileges protections.
“This ban is dangerous and cruel,” said Rebecca Gibron, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky. “It will directly harm the people of Indiana and send ripple effects through our entire health care system, disproportionately harming our communities of color due to centuries of systemically racist policies – increasing the maternal mortality rate for Black women by as much as 33 percent and 21 percent across the board.”
The new law is set to take effect Sept. 15.
State Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said the lawsuit is a way to fight for women’s right to privacy and bodily autonomy. She said nobody should be surprised a legal challenge was filed.
“Lawmakers who voted for this knew that this was going to be a direct issue of right to privacy and violation of right to privacy; it was going to be in the face of women’s equal protections under the law and still individuals voted for this,” Sen. Yoder said, “so this lawsuit should come as no surprise.”
Jim Bopp, an attorney based in Terre Haute and legal counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, said the Indiana Supreme Court already upheld the state’s existing abortion laws in a case based on similar arguments. He said the court ruled the state had a compelling interest in protecting the rights of the unborn. Abortion rights supporters, he said, “are going to move heaven and earth to guarantee that right even by making preposterous legal claims that have already been rejected by the Indiana courts.”
Ken Falk, Legal Director for the ACLU of Indiana, said the state constitution protects the right to privacy.
“From its very inception, the Indiana Constitution has protected the right to privacy,” Falk said. “Implicit in this right, is the right for a woman to make medical decisions regarding her own reproductive health. This ban on abortion will force Hoosiers to carry pregnancies against their will, leading to life-altering consequences and serious health risks. Deeply private, personal, and unique decisions about reproductive health should be made by women in consultation with their doctors. Whether Indiana elected officials personally agree with abortion access or not, it is not up to the government to make these decisions for Hoosiers.”
Following the ACLU’s announcement Tuesday of a lawsuit against SB 1, Indiana Democratic Party Executive Director Lauren Ganapini released this statement:
“The Indiana Republican Party used $240,000 in taxpayer dollars to pass a near-total abortion ban that is against the beliefs of a majority of Hoosiers. These policies are too extreme for our state, and the ACLU’s action is a necessary step to prevent the dangerous consequences that will follow should Senate Bill 1 become law. The only way to stop the Indiana GOP’s extremist agenda is by voting them out in November, and the Indiana Democratic Party urges Hoosiers to support pro-choice candidates who will restore a woman’s right to choose.”
Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, was undeterred in his commitment to the new law.
“We set out to pass a bill in the special session that would protect life and support mothers and babies, and that’s what we did,” Sen. Bray said. “It was always our intent to draft a bill that could withstand a constitutional challenge, and I hope to see that will be the case.”