The state's GOP-dominated legislature approved the ban early last month, and it was signed by Republican Governor Eric Holcomb. That made Indiana the first state to enact tighter abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade in June.
Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, says the measure closes every abortion clinic in the state and gives the attorney general the power to bring licensing action against doctors or facilities that may attempt to provide illegal abortions.
"There is also a financial component that adds millions of dollars into programs that provide compassionate support for both pregnant moms and unborn babies in the state of Indiana," Fichter adds.
However, all of that is up in the air now that Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon has granted abortion clinic operators' request and issued a preliminary injunction against the law.
"From what we've been able to gather from her comments on this is she wants to try to attempt to balance out the constitutional right of women and girls -- she specifically says girls -- but also acknowledges the state's interest in protecting fetal life, as she terms it," the pro-lifer details.
"There is reasonable likelihood that this significant restriction of personal autonomy offends the liberty guarantees of the Indiana Constitution," Judge Hanlon wrote, anticipating that the abortion clinics will prevail in the lawsuit. Fichter, however, predicts a different outcome.
"As others with more legal knowledge have reviewed this, they find some really concerning comments from the judge in issuing this injunction," he reports. "So, it will absolutely be appealed. Indiana's on solid ground with this. The Indiana attorney general's office will defend this to the hilt. We're confident that the state will prevail."
Fichter points out that while the Indiana Constitution does not include a right to an abortion, "it does reference the unalienable right to life."
"So, we are confident Indiana will prevail," he tells AFN.
Meanwhile, he wonders how long the lawsuit will take, how long the blockage will remain in effect, and how many lives will be lost in the interim.
