Federal judge allows Indiana ban on second-trimester abortion procedure to take effect
INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has lifted a previous order and allowed an Indiana law to take effect that bans a certain second-trimester abortion procedure.
The law, passed in 2019, prevents doctors from performing a procedure called dilation and evacuation, which the Republican-backed legislation referred to as a “dismemberment abortion.”
Judge Sarah Evans Barker’s order, signed Thursday, lifts the injunction she issued in June 2019. Barker cited the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued on behalf of two doctors who perform the procedure. The state’s attorneys maintained that the state had a “valid role” in limiting the types of abortion procedures allowed, while ACLU lawyers said the ban would put a “substantial and unwarranted burden” on a woman’s ability to get a second-trimester abortion.
Under the law, dilation and evacuation cannot be performed unless in the case of serious health issues or to save the life of the mother. A doctor found to be performing the procedure could be charged with a felony and spend up to six years in prison.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita had previously petitioned the court to lift this and other injunctions on Indiana abortion laws.
State legislators are expected to consider additional abortion restrictions during a special session set to begin on July 25.