A county judge temporarily blocked Indiana’s abortion ban on Thursday.
The ban, which was passed in August, went into effect last week.
The Indianapolis Star reported that Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon ruled that although abortion was not legal at the time that the Indiana Constitution was written, language contained in the document suggest that there is “a reasonable likelihood” that decisions about family planning are protected.
The Indiana Attorney General will appeal.
The lawsuit was filed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Lawyering Project, the ACLU of Indiana, and WilmerHale on behalf of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, Women’s Med Group Professional Corp, All-Options, Inc, and Dr. Amy Caldwell.
The groups that sued released a statement after the ruling:
“We knew this ban would cause irreparable harm to Hoosiers, and in just a single week, it has done just that. We are grateful that the court granted much needed relief for patients, clients, and providers but this fight is far from over. Indiana lawmakers have made it abundantly clear that this harm, this cruelty, is exactly the reality they had in mind when they passed S.B. 1. There are 1.5 million people of reproductive age in the state of Indiana, and every single one of them deserve the right to make their own decisions about their bodies, families, and futures.”
The Star reported that the lawsuit was filed in Monroe County, home of Bloomington. Hanlon is a Republican judge in neighboring Owen County. The newspaper reported that she got the lawsuit when Democratic judges in Monroe County passed on the lawsuit.
The ACLU of Indiana also filed a lawsuit claiming the ban violates Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). It filed that lawsuit on Sept. 8 on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice. and five women.”