Abstract
On Monday, anti-abortion activists protested outside the Indiana Statehouse. There were no protesters on Wednesday. A federal judge temporarily blocked Indiana’s new law banning abortions on Tuesday, a week after it took effect days after it was signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb in an effort to deter abortion providers from performing abortions at clinics that are also ambulatory surgical centers and to only allow doctors with admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of the clinic to perform them. Restrictions that have been widely criticized as effectively banning abortions in Indiana until 20 weeks from conception if not stopped by legal means.
A Brief Introduction to the Ban
The order, which was set to take effect on July 1st, was signed by Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on June 30th. Judge Pratt gave Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, which had filed a suit in district court against the legislation until Tuesday to respond to the state’s request for a summary judgment in favor of House Enrolled Act 1337. The temporary restraining order was lifted when the state indicated that the law would not be enforced until the case against PLI&K was resolved.
“Citations” from parties about an Indiana Abortion Ban
“We are pleased that Judge Pratt protected access to safe and legal abortion in Indiana,” Nancy Northup, president, and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights said in a prepared statement. “What started as a partisan attack on women’s health care has now been halted.”
The Guttmacher Institute found that 74 percent of Hoosiers believe abortion should be legal under “all” or “most” circumstances.
“This is a victory for women and another rebuke of Governor Holcomb, Attorney General Curtis Hill, and the anti-women’s health politicians who enacted this law,” Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, said in a statement following Judge Pratt’s ruling.
“We are confident the courts will continue to rule in favor of Planned Parenthood patients’ access to safe and legal abortion in our state.” This law is a dangerous intrusion on the health and rights of Hoosiers, and we are not going anywhere. “
Planned Parenthood didn’t like four parts of HEA 1337, which it said went against the 14th Amendment’s due process clause, which protects people’s right to privacy.
Summary of the Prohibition of the Ban
The order was set to take effect on July 1st. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky had filed a suit in district court against the legislation. The temporary restraining order was lifted when the state indicated that the law would not be enforced until the case against PLI&K was resolved.
Read More: Telangana ranks first in the clean city list of the Swatch Bharath scheme
