Indianapolis – Dr. Jeanne Corwin traveled about two hours from her hometown of Cincinnati to an abortion clinic in Indianapolis on Friday and saw the clinic’s first 12 patients the next day. An Indiana judge has blocked enforcement of the state’s abortion ban.
Corwin has spent the past few months since her Ohio medical license allows her to sign the paperwork required for Indiana gynecological patients to access care at the clinic’s sister facility in Dayton. I have made several trips to
But the temporary suspension of Indiana’s abortion ban, combined with a judge’s suspension of Ohio’s ban on nearly all abortions on Sept. 14, prompted Women’s Med and other Indiana abortion clinics. resumed seeing patients on Friday, expecting further changes amid mercury abortion access in the country. Following the US Supreme Court’s June ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
“It’s a glimmer of hope and common sense,” Corwin said of Thursday’s ruling blocking Indiana’s abortion ban.
One of the patients who visited the clinic on Friday was an Indianapolis woman who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns. It was for her second abortion at age 31, she said. Her first experience was when she was 16 years old. At that time, she was afraid to care for her child and she was worried about what her parents would think about her being pregnant.
“At the time, I felt too young to have children,” said the patient. “I can’t imagine what life would be like now.”
Now focused on her career and having a son at 25, she said she chose to have an abortion because she and her partner decided it wasn’t best to have another child right now. rice field.
Hours after Owen County Judge Kelsey Hanlon issued a preliminary injunction against Indiana’s abortion ban on Thursday, the state filed a promised appeal and motion to take the case to the state’s superior court.
Under Indiana’s ban, which included exceptions, abortion clinics were dislicensed and prohibited from providing abortion care, relegating such services only to hospitals or hospital-owned ambulatory surgery centers.
The ban also permits abortion within 10 weeks of fertilization only in cases of rape or incest. To protect the patient’s life and physical health. Or if the fetus is diagnosed with a lethal abnormality.
Pending Indiana law, 12 Republican-led states ban abortion at any point during pregnancy. In Wisconsin, a clinic stopped offering abortions amid a lawsuit over the validity of an 1849 ban. Georgia bans abortion if fetal heart activity is detected. Florida and Utah will start banning at 15 and her 18 weeks respectively. In Arizona, a judge ruled on Friday that: A near-total ban on abortion by the state could be enforced.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office urged Hanlon to uphold the state’s ban, and the arguments against it were based on the state’s constitution’s “novel, unwritten, and historically unsupported abortion rights.” He said that
The American Civil Liberties Union in Indiana, which represents abortion clinics, filed the lawsuit on August 31, arguing that the ban “bans the overwhelming majority of abortions in Indiana, with devastating and irreversible consequences for plaintiffs.” I will give it,” he said. And, more importantly, their patients and clients. ”
Ken Falk, general counsel for Indiana’s ACLU, said Friday that plaintiffs have 15 days to submit a response to the state’s stay request. He said he doesn’t expect a public hearing on the matter anytime soon.
In a statement, Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Right to Life, Indiana, said the organization was “encouraged by the judge’s acknowledgment of the state’s legitimate interest in protecting unborn children. “I hope the lockdown will be short term,” he said.
Despite those legal battles, Women’s Med plans to offer abortions wherever possible, likely starting next week, said Dr. Katie McHugh, the clinic’s abortion provider.
A patient who walked through the door of the clinic on Friday signed a state-required consent form before the second appointment where the abortion was to be performed. is 24 hours.
Understaffed Indiana clinics will also continue to send Indiana patients to Ohio for treatment until female health care returns to normal numbers. McHugh said clinic staff moved between the two states to maintain each clinic as others closed.
“The past three months since Dobbs’ decision have been so extraordinary that we have had to make do with time, staff and resources,” McHugh said. “We are trying to gain a foothold again.”
Elsewhere in Indiana, Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, said the South Bend abortion clinic was “trying to get the right staff so we can see patients again.” rice field.
Jodi Madeira, a professor of law at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, said the judge’s interpretation of the Indiana Constitution’s article on liberty is encouraging for abortion rights groups who argue that the right to liberty includes bodily autonomy. said it would be
“This is a very different argument than one might expect from a Republican judge who tends to read the constitutional language narrowly,” he said, expecting the Indiana Supreme Court to ultimately determine the legality of the ban. Madeira said.
Abortion clinics and hospitals have separate licensing procedures, and another burden of proposing “good and reasonable grounds for terminating” the clinic’s license, the judge’s order said.
The question of whether state constitutions protect the right to abortion remains undecided. In 2004, a state appeals court ruled that privacy is a core value under the state constitution, which applies to all residents, including women seeking abortions.
However, the Indiana Supreme Court later upheld a law requiring an 18-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion, but did not rule on whether the state’s constitution included privacy rights or abortion rights. did not.
“You can have rights,” Madeira said. “But not access or infrastructure.”
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Arleigh Rodgers is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Reporting to America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover hidden issues. Follow Arleigh Rodgers on her Twitter. https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
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https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/2022/09/23/indiana-appeals-judges-order-blocking-states-abortion-ban/ Indiana abortion clinic sees patients amid law change