Indiana pro-choice activists said they hope to stop the state’s new abortion law before it takes effect in July.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky is partnering with the American Civil Liberties Union to challenge the controversial measure in court, according to a press release. The organizations are seeking judicial review and requesting a preliminary injunction.
Gov. Mike Pence signed HEA 1337 into law March 24. Several opponents of the law, including Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, claim its new restrictions on abortion are unconstitutional.
“It is clear that the governor is more comfortable practicing medicine without a license than behaving as a responsible lawyer, as he picks and chooses which constitutional rights are appropriate,” PPINK CEO Betty Cockrum said in a press release.
Under the law, doctors who perform abortions must have admitting privileges at hospitals, fetal remains must be buried or cremated, and women must wait 18 hours after a mandatory ultrasound before they can obtain the procedure.
The measure also outlaws abortions sought because of the fetus’ sex, race or possible genetic abnormality. North Dakota is the only other state in the nation with a similar restriction.
Cockrum said Pence’s policy is pro-birth, not pro-life.
“Pence fails to grasp basic facts when it comes to reproductive health,” Cockrum said in a press release. “Education, coupled with access to all reproductive health services, is the most effective method of protecting Hoosiers.”
Erica Gibson
