Indiana judge rules against abortion providers fighting near-total ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana county judge ruled Wednesday against abortion providers who are seeking to broaden access to the procedure under the near-total ban state lawmakers passed after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal protections in 2022.

The providers — including the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate — had sought a permanent injunction to expand the near-total ban's medical exemptions and to block its requirement that abortions can only be performed at hospitals.

Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon, who conducted a three-day bench trial in late May in southern Indiana’s Monroe County, denied the providers' request for the permanent injunction against both elements of the state's law, known as S.B. 1.

“Significant and compelling evidence regarding the policy implications of S.B. 1 and its effect on medical professionals in particular was presented. However, the Court cannot substitute its own policy preferences for that of the Indiana General Assembly,” Hanlon wrote.

The providers are likely to appeal the ruling by Hanlon, an elected Republican from a different county who was appointed as a special judge in the case.

Indiana became the first state to enact tighter restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Rare exceptions to the near-total ban include when the health or life of the mother is at risk as well as in cases of rape, incest and lethal fetal anomalies in limited circumstances.

The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the state's ban in June 2023, ending a broader legal challenge brought by the same plaintiffs, but said the state’s constitution protects a women’s right to an abortion when her life or health is at risk.

Indiana’s clinics stopped providing abortions ahead of the ban...