Indiana abortion ban takes effect after Supreme Court denies ACLU appeal

Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is now in effect after the Indiana Supreme Court on Monday denied a request from the ACLU and Planned Parenthood to rehear the case.

For all practical purposes, health care providers had been following the abortion law since Aug. 1, though the process of the legal case ticked on.

Monday’s news comes more than a year after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the law at the end of the 2022 special legislative session.

More: Planned Parenthood, hospitals began Indiana abortion ban Tuesday. Here's how it works.

At the end of July, the ACLU and Planned Parenthood asked for a rehearing to clarify exemptions in the law related to an exemption to the life of the mother.

However, Chief Justice Loretta Rush, in an opinion, stated that the parties asking for a rehearing in the case did not “properly” put concerns about the impact of the abortion law on Hoosier women seeking medical care for serious health conditions or on health care providers.

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood wanted the court to maintain the injunction that completely stopped the ban from going into effect while it pursued another injunction in trial court, according to Rush’s opinion.

Justice Christopher Goff was the only member of the state’s Supreme Court to dissent with the denial to rehear the case.

In a prepared statement, Attorney General Todd Rokita said his office has defended the law every step of the way and applauded the court's decision.

“This is great news for Hoosier life and liberty," he said. "We defeated the pro-death advocates who try to interject their views in a state that clearly voted for life.”

In a statement, ACLU of Indiana executive director Jane Henegar said it's a "dark day" in the state's history.

"We have seen the horrifying impact of bans like this across the country, and the narrow exceptions included in this extreme ban will undoubtedly put Hoosiers’ lives at risk," Henegar said in the statement. "We will continue to fight in court to clarify and expand upon the current exceptions. Every person should have the fundamental freedom to control their own body and politicians’ personal opinions should play no part in this personal decision.”

IndyStar has reached out to the branch of Planned Parenthood that includes Indiana.

Hogsett calls the ruling a setback for Indy

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, a Democrat who is running for reelection, in a statement called the ruling "a setback for the safety of Indianapolis residents."

"It undermines reproductive rights and essential healthcare services," Hogsett said in the statement. "I remain committed to fighting tirelessly at the Statehouse to restore the rights of individuals to make their own healthcare decisions."

Republican candidate for Indianapolis mayor, Jefferson Shreve, through campaign spokesperson, Jennifer Erbacher, declined to comment on the Supreme Court decision Monday. But he recently told IndyStar that he thinks Hogsett is trying to nationalize the mayoral race by speaking out about abortion. Shreve said that as mayor, he would allocate zero city resources to abortion policy matters and that his focus would be on other issues that a mayor can influence.

How we got here

In 2022, Indiana was the first state in the country to sign new abortion restrictions into law after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that ended Roe v. Wade and returned the control over abortion regulations to the states.

There are three exceptions to the state's ban on abortions, according to the law: Fatal fetal anomalies, when the mother’s life or health is in danger up to 20 weeks post-fertilization, and in the case of rape or incest up to 10 weeks post-fertilization.

Pregnant people cannot be prosecuted under the law for having an illegal abortion but a provider who performs the procedure can face losing his or her license.

The law passed last year limits abortions to be performed in hospitals. The vast majority of the more than 9,500 abortions that took place in Indiana occurred in outpatient clinics; fewer than 200 of the procedures occurred in hospitals, according to the state’s annual terminated pregnancy report.

The ACLU of Indiana also sued on behalf of a group of plaintiffs last year who argued that their religions allow for abortion and preventing them from such care violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

That case has been appealed and oral arguments are scheduled before the state Supreme Court for December.

IndyStar archives contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana abortion law: Ban begins after Supreme Court denies ACLU appeal