(INDIANAPOLIS) – An appeals court ruling on a 2016 Indiana abortion law marks seven straight defeats for attempts to restrict abortion in the state.
The law would have required an ultrasound at least 18 hours before an abortion is performed. The law had already been blocked by a lower court — the Chicago-based appeals court affirmed that decision. The court says if there’s an ultrasound, there’s no reason to do it that far in advance except to force women to make two separate trips.
Indiana law already requires an 18-hour waiting period between consulting with an abortion doctor and having the procedure. But Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky CEO Christie Gillespie says while women can have that initial meeting at any of her organization’s 18 locations around Indiana, the only locations with ultrasound equipment are the four which perform abortions, meaning many patients would have a long drive twice.
Gillespie and ACLU Indiana legal director Ken Falk say they hope legislators will get sick of losing in court and stop passing new abortion bills each year. Gillespie maintains if they really want to reduce abortions, they should support sex education and low-cost birth control.
Supporters and opponents of abortion rights are looking at Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination as a potential game-changer. Falk says he’s “concerned,” but says historically, the more people have come to rely on a precedent, the less likely the Supreme Court has been to overturn it. He argues after 45 years, the court should view Roe v. Wade as settled law, regardless of who the justices are.
ACLU Indiana legal director Ken Falk (left) and Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky CEO Christie Gillespie (Photo: Eric Berman/WIBC)
