INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has allowed an Indiana law that largely bans a second-trimester abortion procedure to go into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
Judge Sarah Evans Barker’s order signed Thursday lifted the injunction she issued in 2019 blocking the law against dilation and evacuation abortions.
The law took effect immediately, according to the state attorney general’s office, and is the first tightening of Indiana’s anti-abortion laws since the Supreme Court decision. Indiana could have broader abortion restrictions next month as the Republican-dominated Legislature is scheduled to begin a special legislative session on July 25.
FIRST TOUGH AGAINST ABORTION SINCE THE SUPREME COURT DECISION
Barker agreed to a request from the Indiana attorney general’s office to lift his order, writing that the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide removed “fundamental possessions.” for your analysis.
The Republican-backed legislation bars doctors from performing what it calls “dismemberment abortions” except to prevent serious health risks or save a woman’s life. A doctor who breaks the law could face a felony charge, punishable by up to six years in prison.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana admitted in court documents last week that the Supreme Court ruling condemned the injunction it had won for Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indianapolis gynecologist who performs the procedure.
Bernard described the women who underwent the procedure as “wanted pregnancies” while facing serious medical complications. Likewise, she expressed in an interview that the exception of the law that allows the procedure for medically necessary reasons was not enough protection for doctors.
“What percentage of probability of death counts?” asked Bernardo. “Medicine is not so black and white,” the gynecologist pointed out.
“MEDICINE IS NOT SO BLACK AND WHITE,” SAID DR. CAITLIN BERNARD
The procedure used during the second trimester of pregnancy accounted for 27 abortions, or 0.35%, of those performed in Indiana during 2017, the last year an Indiana Department of Health annual abortion report included counts for specific procedures. Current state law generally prohibits abortions after 13 weeks of pregnancy, and 1.2% of the 8,414 reported abortions in Indiana last year occurred after that period.
The state’s Republican Attorney General, Todd Rokita, hailed the lifting of the injunction as “an exciting battle victory in our war to defend the unborn and protect women.”
Barker, who was nominated as a judge by President Ronald Reagan, refused to lift a separate injunction against a 2017 Indiana law that would require parents to be notified if a court allows a girl under 18 to have an abortion without parental consent. Barker cited procedural reasons, noting that a challenge to that law was pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
The attorney general’s office asked the appeals court on Friday to dismiss the injunction. Republican legislative leaders have said they will consider additional restrictions on abortion during the next special session, but have not yet released any details on whether they will seek an outright ban or allow exceptions, such as in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life of women. the woman.