GRIM

Indiana Supreme Court Greenlights Near-Total Abortion Ban

Indiana was the first state to pass a near-total abortion ban following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade.

The first state to pass a near-total abortion ban following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade has won a challenge to its ban in the state’s top court. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday that the ban, which prohibits all abortions except for in certain life-threatening circumstances, was in line with the state’s Constitution. The Constitution protects abortion when “necessary to protect her life or to protect her from a serious health risk, but the General Assembly otherwise retains broad legislative discretion for determining whether and the extent to which to prohibit abortion,” the majority opinion said. The decision overturned a lower court’s ruling that said the ban violates Indiana’s privacy protections. But the ban still faces another lawsuit from the ACLU on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice alleging the restriction violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It’s unclear how soon the abortion ban will take effect.