Court of Appeals to weigh Indiana near-total abortion ban case in September
INDIANAPOLIS – The stay on Indiana’s near-total abortion ban will likely remain in place for at least the next four months after the Indiana Court of Appeals set oral arguments in the case for September.
Until the court issues a decision, abortion access in the state will carry on as usual.
The case before the three-judge panel looks at whether the abortion ban approved by GOP legislators in August violates the state’s religious freedom laws.
Lawyers representing multiple faith groups will argue in part that their religion requires and directs them to obtain abortions that would be prohibited by the ban. The plaintiffs also hold that when a fetus becomes a human being is a matter of opinion and belief, not scientific fact.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office will argue in part that the state has long restricted abortions and the ban will “preserve the lives of human organisms between fertilization and birth,” according to a court brief.
The state has also asserted abortion does not carry religious significance to the plaintiffs, but is instead a means by which they can mitigate harm to their physical, mental or emotional health or wellbeing.
https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/court-of-appeals-to-weigh-indiana-near-total-abortion-ban-case-in-september/article_50e6970e-f589-11ed-aa45-db7aadfb19b9.html