Indiana Judge Upholds Abortion Ban, Rejects Expansion of Exceptions

An Indiana county judge has ruled against abortion providers and advocacy groups seeking to broaden access to abortion under the state’s near-total ban, enacted in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Judge Kelsey Blake Hanlon, who presided over a three-day trial in May, issued an order on Sept. 11 that denies a request for a permanent injunction sought by Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, which mounted a legal challenge against Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). SB 1, which was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2022, prohibits abortions except in cases of rape, incest, lethal fetal anomalies, or when a woman’s life or health is at risk. Indiana was the first state to enact a near-total abortion ban after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned to individual states the authority to determine their own abortion policies....