Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is finally in effect, after weeks of legal uncertainty.
The Indiana Supreme Court on Monday denied abortion providers’ last-ditch effort to halt the ban.
The law, SEA 1(ss), bans abortions except for in limited cases: when the life or serious health of the pregnant person is at risk; when there’s a lethal fetal anomaly, but only up to 20 weeks; or in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks.
The state Supreme Court upheld the ban as constitutional nearly two months ago. But the ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of abortion clinics, tried to get the justices to reconsider. It asked for the ban to be halted while the courts decide how far the serious health exception extends.
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The Supreme Court declined that request. Chief Justice Loretta Rush did express concern about the abortion ban’s impact, while noting that the ACLU’s legal effort to better define serious health risk must go through the normal judicial process.
The ban had been practically in effect since Aug. 1, since abortion clinics had stopped providing abortion care and hospitals were following the ban’s limited exceptions.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
