Indiana takes steps to protect babies from abortion after the landmark Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Attorney General Todd Rokita quickly asked the courts to lift injunctions against multiple pro-life laws that would protect babies from abortion.
Rokita asked courts to lift the prohibitions against several abortion laws in Indiana following the Supreme Court’s quashing of the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey rulings. The rejection of those woefully misguided precedents means that states now have much more authority to enact and enforce laws related to abortion.
“Like most Hoosiers, I believe in building a culture of living in Indiana,” Attorney General Rokita said in a statement. “That means protecting unborn babies’ lives and their mothers’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being. I will do everything I can to further this mission.”
“Indiana has a long history of defending life,” Attorney General Rokita said, “and the Supreme Court has recognized these contributions. Indeed, the Dobbs decision specifically cited multiple cases in Indiana — such as our fight to ban discriminatory abortion and to demand respectful handling of the bodies of aborted babies.”
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Indiana laws for which Attorney General Rokita is asking the courts to override subpoenas include:
A ban on discriminatory abortions is specifically requested because of the race, sex, or disability of the unborn child. A ban on mutilation abortions, which involves dismembering live unborn children, a requirement that parents be notified when a court orders an abortion approves a minor child without parental consent (subject to extenuating circumstances such as reason to believe that such notice could endanger the child)
In addition, Attorney General Rokita has already obtained a court-filed provision halting the expansion plans of abortion providers Whole Woman’s Health Alliance and Planned Parenthood in South Bend and Evansville, respectively.
Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter told LifeNews he is pleased with the news.
“The AG’s swift action today to move Indiana forward after Friday’s ruling underscores leaders’ commitment to protecting life. Today’s action shows that our leaders in Indiana realize that every life has value and that everyone deserves to be born,” he said. These cases challenged Indiana’s ban on late-term and child abortion on discriminatory grounds, such as race, gender, and even the mother’s national origin.
Meanwhile, the state legislature in Hoosier state is studying a special session that could include an abortion ban. That session starts on July 6.
As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, holding a 6-3 majority decision in the Dobbs case that “the Constitution does not grant the right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The Supreme Court also ruled 6-3 to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, allowing states to restrict abortions further and remove the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the verdict but, in his opinion, disagreed with the reasoning, saying he wanted to keep abortion legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was destroyed and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions, and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state to protect babies from abortion, Kentucky became 4th, Louisiana became 5th, Ohio became 6th, Utah became 7th, Oklahoma became 8th, and Alabama became 9th. Yesterday Mississippi took 10th and South Carolina 11th. And in Tennessee, an abortion ban is expected to go into effect as early as today.
Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books, but whether they apply and will be enforced is questionable.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or expeditiously ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
“Abortion poses a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of any state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey have usurped that authority. We now reject those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was wrong from the start. The reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have fueled debate and deepened divisions.”
This is a milestone for the Pro-Life movement and our entire nation. After nearly 50 years of staining the moral fabric of our country, Roe v. Wade is no more.
Judges Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen Breyer wrote a joint dissent condemning the decision to allow states to impose “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show that Americans support abortion.
