Indiana’s former abortion care providers are taking new aim at the state’s near-total abortion ban following their loss at the state Supreme Court earlier this year.
The revised lawsuit seeks to broaden the ban’s exceptions.
In June, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the state constitution does guarantee the right to abortion, but only if a pregnant person’s life or serious health is at risk.
The ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of abortion clinics, argues under that ruling, the exception in state law that allows abortions “to prevent death or a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function” is too narrow.
The law that took effect earlier this year also completely banned abortion clinics such as Planned Parenthood from providing abortion care, even under the narrow exceptions. That’s left a few hospitals in the Indianapolis area as the only places in Indiana where abortion care is accessible.
The ACLU’s latest motion asks the courts to expand the definition of “serious health risk” in the law, for instance to include mental health conditions. It also asks the courts to allow abortion clinics to provide abortion care under the ban’s exceptions.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.