INDIANAPOLIS — A federal appeals court has reversed a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of provisions in an Indiana law that requires abortion clinics to either bury or cremate fetal remains.
It comes after a federal judge found that the requirements infringe on the religious and free speech rights of people who don't believe aborted fetuses deserve the same treatment as deceased people.
A legal challenge to the law was brought on in part by two women who had abortions and objected to the provisions requiring burial or cremation, arguing that implies the personhood of a fetus. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is a defendant in the suit.
PREVIOUS | Judge: Indiana can't enforce abortion burial, cremation law
"... Neither of the two plaintiffs who has had an abortion contends that a third party’s cremation or burial of fetal remains would cause her to violate any religious principle indirectly. What these two plaintiffs contend is that cremation or burial implies a view — the personhood of an unborn fetus — that they do not hold," the opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reads in part.
"... A moral objection to one potential implication of the way medical providers handle fetal remains is some distance from a contention that the state compels any woman to violate her own religious tenets," it states.
The full opinion can be viewed here.
PREVIOUS | Federal judge rules portions of Indiana abortion law unconstitutional
House Enrolled Act 1337 was signed into law in 2016 by then-Gov. Mike Pence. Shortly afterward, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky filed suit, claiming the law violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th amendment.
The U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the law.
-
ISP arrests man for attempted murder in two Monument Circle attacks, 1 deadly
Indiana State Police have arrested a man in connection with two attacks near Monument that left one man dead, and another hospitalized.
Former USPS employee, 2 others charged in stealing $255K in prepaid debit cards
A former United States Postal Service employee and two co-conspirators face charges after they reportedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in prepaid debit cards from the mail.
AG Rokita demands Merrillville stop blocking ICE detention facilities
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is demanding the Town of Merrillville stop blocking federal immigration enforcement. He warned the town to comply by July 15 or face a lawsuit.
High heat and humidity all week long
High heat and humidity will be in place all week long. Heat indices or feels like temperatures will be into the triple digits through the rest of the work week.
