Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon issued a preliminary injunction against the ban that went into effect a week ago. The order was sought by clinic operators who argued that the state constitution protects access to abortion. The ban was approved by the Republican-controlled Indiana state legislature on August 5 and signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb. It made Indiana the first state to enact stricter restrictions on abortion after the US Supreme Court struck down federal protections by overturning Roe v Wade in June. The judge wrote, “There is a reasonable possibility that this substantial limitation of personal autonomy offends the liberty guarantees of the Indiana constitution.” Hanlon also said the clinics will prevail in the lawsuit. The provision prevents the state from enforcing the ban pending trial. The state attorney general and Republican leaders had no immediate comment. The ban, which includes limited exceptions, replaced laws that generally banned abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy and strictly limited them after the 13th week. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit on Aug. 31, arguing that the ban “would prohibit the vast majority of abortions in Indiana and, therefore, have a devastating and irreparable impact on plaintiffs and, more importantly, patients and customers”. Ken Falk, the legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, pointed to the state’s bill of rights, including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” arguing before the judge Monday that it included the right to privacy and self-determination. about whether to have children. The state attorney general’s office said the court should uphold the ban, saying arguments against it are based on a “novel, unwritten, historically unsupported abortion right” in the state constitution. “The constitutional text nowhere mentions abortion, and Indiana has prohibited or strictly regulated abortion by law since 1835 – before, during and after the time the Indiana constitution of 1851 was drafted, debated and ratified,” it said. the office. The ban includes exceptions that allow abortions in cases of rape and incest before 10 weeks after fertilization, to protect the life and physical health of the mother, and if a fetus is diagnosed with a fatal abnormality. The law also prohibited abortion clinics from providing any abortion care, leaving such services to be provided exclusively by hospitals or hospital-owned outpatient surgery centers. The lawsuit was filed in Monroe County, which includes the liberal-leaning city of Bloomington and Indiana University. Two elected Democratic judges from that county declined to handle the case, citing no reason. Hanlon, a Republican from neighboring Owen County, accepted the appointment as a special judge.
