Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sits at a committee meeting on Capitol Hill on May 24, 2017. He said he will appeal a judge's decision to pause Indiana's new abortion law. File Photo by Erin Schaff/UPI |
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Sept. 22 (UPI) -- A county judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction on Indiana's new restrictive abortion law, temporarily preventing it from going into effect as the state's attorney general promptly promised to appeal the decision.
Bloomington-based Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon said in her ruling on the law, which went into effect on Sept. 15, that Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union had shown "that the public has an interest in Hoosiers being able to make deeply private and personal decisions without undue government intrusion."
The law, known as Senate Bill 1, only allows abortions in order to prevent a serious health risk or death of the mother, when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest up to 10 weeks post-fertilization or when the fetus has been determined to have a fatal anomaly up to 20 weeks.
"We knew this ban would cause irreparable harm to Hoosiers, and in just a single week, it has done just that," said Planned Parenthood and the ACLU said in a joint statement. "We are grateful that the court granted much-needed relief for patients, clients, and providers but this fight is far from over."
Attorney General Todd Rokita said he will appeal the decision.
"We plan to appeal and continue to make the case for life in Indiana," Rokita said in a statement. "Our office remains determined to fight for the lives of the unborn, and this law provides a reasonable way to begin doing that."
Others who supported the lawsuit against Indiana's abortion bill included the Whole Woman's Health Alliance, Women's Med Group Professional Corp, All-Options, Inc., and Dr. Amy Caldwell.
