Indiana Supreme Court lifts 1 injunction on state’s near-total abortion ban

Indianapolis, Indiana – On Friday, the Indiana Supreme Court decided to overturn a decision that had been preventing the state’s almost complete abortion ban.

A preliminary injunction against the abortion ban that had been issued on privacy grounds was reversed by the court, allowing the ban to take effect while the lawsuit is ongoing.

The nearly complete prohibition on abortion is still not enforced since a different injunction prohibiting it on grounds of religious liberty is still in force.

In September, a court in Marion County decided to prohibit Indiana’s new abortion ban on the grounds that it went against the state constitution’s guarantees of the right to privacy.

The verdict was immediately appealed by the state, and the Indiana Supreme Court consented to hear the case.

Ken Falk of the ACLU argued before the court in January that earlier state supreme court decisions had, at least in part, expanded certain rights in reliance on Article 1, Section 1. Tom Fisher, the solicitor general, warned the court that if the injunction were upheld, it would mean that Article 1, Section 1’s protections had no boundaries.

The original action challenging the prohibition, which has not yet gone to trial, is separate from the injunction. In a related action that challenges the restriction on the grounds of religious liberty, a Marion County court in December imposed an injunction against the abortion ban.