Planned Parenthood of Indiana v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Health

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Indiana requires that, at least 18 hours before a woman has an abortion, she must be given information provided by the state about the procedure, facts about the fetus and its development, and alternatives to abortion. That information is meant to advance the state’s asserted interest in promoting fetal life. The state also required that a woman have an ultrasound and hear the fetal heartbeat before an abortion although she may decline, as 75% of women did. Before July 1, 2016, women could, and generally did, have the ultrasound on the same day of the procedure. Almost all abortions in Indiana occur at four Planned Parenthood (PP) health centers; only those PP facilities have ultrasound equipment. House Enrolled Act 1337 requires women to undergo an ultrasound procedure at least 18 hours before the abortion. PP filed suit and sought preliminary relief. The district court granted a preliminary injunction. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The court weighed the burdens, given the locations of the PP clinics, the populations served by those facilities, and how the new regulations impact finances, employment, child care, and the safety of women in abusive relationships, against the benefits the law confers and the state's legitimate interest in discouraging abortion, and concluded that the new law has “the effect of placing a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman’s choice” to have an abortion. View "Planned Parenthood of Indiana v. Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Health" on Justia Law