Indiana‘s Supreme Court announced it will take up a case challenging the state’s abortion ban but will leave a temporary block on the ban in place while it considers the lawsuit.
The move means abortion will likely remain legal in the Hoosier State for several months. The court set a start day for oral arguments in the matter for Jan. 12 and a deadline for briefings in December.
JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS RESTRICTIVE INDIANA ABORTION LAW
Indiana approved the ban in August, joining other red states that ramped up restrictions on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita petitioned the high court to bypass the state appeals courts and take jurisdiction over the case. His challenge came on behalf of the state after a lower court blocked enforcement of Indiana’s abortion ban, S.B. 1, through a preliminary injunction while a lawsuit worked its way through the courts.
Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon, a Republican, ruled last month that there was a “reasonable likelihood” that the abortion ban flouted the state constitution and indicated she believed the plaintiffs would prevail.
“There is a reasonable likelihood that this significant restriction of personal autonomy offends the liberty guarantees of the Indiana Constitution,” Hanlon said, the Associated Press reported.
Indiana passed the stringent abortion ban in August, and it was enacted on Sept. 15, before Hanlon temporarily blocked it days later. The measure prohibits most abortions with exceptions for circumstances involving risk to the life of the mother, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest up to 10 weeks post-fertilization.
Shortly after the passage of the bill, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit, alleging the measure infringed upon Indiana residents’ right to privacy. The ACLU of Indiana also filed a second lawsuit claiming the abortion ban breached the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
A judge in Marion County is set to hear arguments for the second lawsuit on Friday, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.
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Indiana’s passage of the abortion ban in August made it the first state to approve an abortion ban of that caliber since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, per the report. A slew of states had prior restrictions on the books prior to the nixing of Roe.
Under the current injunction, Indiana’s prior abortion policy, permitting abortion up to 20 weeks of gestation but restricting it thereafter, remains in effect.
