Judge refuses to grant restraining order against bill defunding Planned Parenthood

A federal judge refused to grant a restraining order against HB 1201, according to an anonymous source in Planned Parenthood’s administrative offices inIndianapolis.

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana requested a restraining order against the bill hours after Gov. Daniels signed it.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt will still take time to consider whether to overturn the bill on the constitutional grounds Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed under, but she decided not to temporarily stop enforcement of the bill.  

Planned Parenthood and the ACLU filed for the restraining order on the grounds that the bill denied Medicaid patients the right to their preferred health care provider — which would be a violation of federal law.

They also claimed that it denies funding to an organization because it provides a constitutionally-protected service (abortion) and that it requires doctors to tell their patients medically inaccurate information. According to Planned Parenthood, this is a violation of physicians’ First Amendment rights to free speech.

In a statement released on its website, Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s CEO and President Betty Cockrum said she was “deeply disappointed” the judge did not grant the restraining order.

“The ruling means that Hoosiers who rely on federal funding have lost access to their crucial and lifesaving preventive health care at Planned Parenthood of Indiana,” she said.

HB 1201 makes it illegal for federal funding allocated through the Indiana state government to go to Planned Parenthood clinics across the state. It also imposes several new restrictions on providing abortions in the state of Indiana.

Gov. Daniels signed the bill Tuesday. The court will have a hearing on whether to grant a separate injunction that Planned Parenthood petitioned for in a hearing June 6.

— Zach Ammerman