Twenty Democratic AGs back challenge to Indiana abortion law - Reuters

(Reuters) - A group of 20 Democratic state attorneys general have urged a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court ruling striking down several restrictions on abortion in Indiana, including a ban on prescribing medication via telemedicine to induce abortion.

The states, including Illinois, California, New York and Massachusetts, said in an amicus brief filed Monday with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker in Indianapolis properly considered the burdens placed on women, especially low-income ones, by the restrictions.

In addition to the telemedicine ban, the disputed restrictions, which stem from multiple laws passed since the 1970s, include a requirement that first-trimester abortions be performed by physicians rather than other clinicians like nurse practitioners; a requirement that second-trimester abortions be performed at a hospital or ambulatory surgical center; and a requirement of in-person counseling before an abortion.

Abortion provider Whole Woman's Health Alliance challenged the restrictions in a lawsuit over the denial of its application to open an abortion clinic in South Bend.

Barker earlier this year enjoined the restrictions after a bench trial. Indiana, on appeal, argued that the ruling should be overturned because similar regulations had withstood constitutional challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The states said Monday that it was necessary to look not only at precedent but at "the facts and circumstances on the ground," such as how far women must travel to obtain abortion under the rules, to determine whether the rules were an undue burden.

The office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita could not immediately be reached for comment. Twenty-two Republican-led states previously filed a brief in Indiana's support.

The case is Whole Woman's Health Alliance v. Rokita, 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-2480.

For the amici: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Solicitor General Jane Elinor Notz and Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Hunger

For Indiana: Thomas Fisher of the Attorney General's office

source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/twenty-democratic-ags-back-challenge-indiana-abortion-law-2021-11-09/

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