INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Supreme Court said it would not immediately consider a challenge to the state’s abortion ban based on the argument that the law violates some people’s religious freedoms, leaving that decision to an appeals court, at least for now.
The state Supreme Court issued an order Monday that the state Court of Appeals would first review the case A judge from a lower court sided with the residents in December who claim that the state ban on abortion violates their religious beliefs. The Attorney General’s Office appealed this decision and asked the Supreme Court to take up the case.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit in September on behalf of those residents — who are of Muslim, Jewish and other faiths — after Republican lawmakers enacted the ban last summer.
The ACLU and the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Indiana’s ban, that was law signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb contradicts the religious values of those residents when they believe the treatment is acceptable, the lawsuit argues.
In early January, the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by operators of abortion clinics. The court upheld a ban the abortion ban while it reviews the case, according to a district judge In September, it was initially determined that the law was likely to breach privacy under the state constitution.
While Indiana’s ban is blocked, abortion remains legal in the state for up to 20 weeks after conception.
After the US Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade overturned, religious freedom lawsuits were brought against states’ abortion bans sprouted up across the countrywhere abortion rights advocates aim to protect access to abortion and defend their beliefs.
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Arleigh Rodgers is a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that brings journalists into local newsrooms to cover undercover topics. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/arleighrodgers
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