Leaders of local women’s organizations said that while Indiana‘s near-total ban on abortion should be overturned, they are pleased that a judge is hearing a Planned Parenthood case to expand medical exemptions.
Special Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon presided over a three-day trial that ended Friday to address a case brought by abortion providers to expand access to abortions under the state’s near-total ban.
Julie Storbeck, president of the Indiana National Organization for Women, said the organization supports the lawsuit because Indiana’s near-total ban on abortion was not decided based on medicine.
indiana abortion ban
Carrie Napoleon/Post-Tribune
Activists from both sides of the abortion debate make their points on the grounds of the Porter County Courthouse in Valparaiso Tuesday afternoon, a day after Indiana’s near-total abortion ban went into effect.
“We hope that the entire law will be completely repealed at some point, and we will continue to work on that and support all efforts to repeal it in its entirety. But in the meantime, until we get to that point, we fully support this lawsuit,” said Storbeck, of Valparaiso. “We are cautiously optimistic that the courts will rule in our favor and expand the exceptions.”
Deborah Chubb, executive director of the Indiana Women’s Action Movement, said that while it is important for abortion providers to go to court to expand access to abortion care, it is also frustrating that they must do so.
“This whole discussion seems like an academic exercise. The thing is, women make very responsible and rational decisions about how many children they can carry, bear and raise,” said Chubb, of Michigan City.
Michael Gard / Post-Tribune
Deb Chubb of Michigan City, executive director of Indiana Women’s Action Movement Inc., attends a pro-abortion rights rally at the statehouse in Indianapolis on Monday, July 25, 2022. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune)
Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers are asking Hanlon for a preliminary injunction expanding medical exemptions and blocking the hospitalization-only requirement.
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the ban in June, ending a broader legal challenge brought by the same plaintiffs, but said the state constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion when her life or health is at risk.
The plaintiffs say the ban’s exceptions to protect health are so narrowly drafted that, in practice, many doctors do not terminate a pregnancy even when the woman’s condition qualifies under the statute.
Post-tribuna
Julie Storbeck, president of the National Organization for Women of Northwest Indiana and Indiana NOW, speaks during a protest at the Porter County Courthouse in Valparaiso, Indiana, on Friday, June 24, 2022. That same day, the Supreme Court announced the overturning of Roe v. Wade. . (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune)
According to the complaint, the ban does not take into account conditions that may threaten health in later stages of pregnancy, after childbirth or conditions that may exacerbate other health problems. The health and life exception allows an abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
The plaintiffs also want women to be able to have abortions if medically indicated for psychological reasons. The current statute explicitly excludes the threat of self-harm or suicide as a “serious health risk,” which is another reason the plaintiffs say the state’s definition is unconstitutional.
Only a few hospitals, primarily in the Indianapolis area, offer abortions and generally at a higher cost than clinics, the complaint says. Doctors who prescribe medications must observe the woman swallowing the pills, which delays abortions in patients who do not live nearby.
Storbeck said the cost of an abortion can be thousands of dollars at a hospital, while the cost of an abortion can cost a few hundred dollars at a clinic.
The state has called the providers’ claims “vague and ambiguous” in court filings and denied that Indiana infringes on any legal rights.
If a patient requests or needs an abortion, that decision should be made between the patient and a doctor, Storbeck said.
“How do we get to the point where a doctor, his decision in a life-or-death situation, his decision in dealing with his patient’s health, is dismissed by someone who has no experience or knowledge about pregnancy and reproductive rights? “Storbeck said.
The challenge was filed in politically liberal Monroe County, where Indiana University’s main campus is located, but Democratic judges dismissed the case until it came before Hanlon, a Republican elected in neighboring, conservative Owen County.
Indiana became the first state to enact stricter abortion restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022. State law also allows exceptions for rape, incest and lethal fetal anomalies in limited circumstances.
Since the ban went into effect, abortions in the state have decreased dramatically. According to the latest report from the state health department, 46 abortions were reported in the last three months of 2023, compared to 1,724 during the last quarter of 2022.
Chubb said if state officials want to increase the number of births in the state, the legislature should pass bills that improve access to prenatal care, paid maternity leave and the medical cost of childbirth.
“There are a lot of things policymakers could do if their goal was to increase the number of births,” Chubb said.
The way to address the state’s near-total ban on abortion is for voters to elect those who support legalizing abortion to the state legislature and other state offices. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick recently held a series of town halls across the state, including one in Merrillville, that focused on reproductive rights.
“Even if this exception for maternal health is expanded to some extent because of this case, that does not address the problem of women being denied full and equal citizenship under our state constitution,” Chubb said.
Storbeck said voters should research their candidates in the general election and vote for candidates who support reproductive rights.
“That’s the only way we’re going to get out of this: if we vote,” Storbeck said.
akukulka@chicagotribune.com
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