Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, Women’s Med Group Professional Corporation, All-Options, Inc., and Dr. Amy Caldwell filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 1, signed into law last month by Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The bill was the first new abortion ban passed by a state legislature following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, and without judicial relief, will effectively eliminate abortion access in the state on September 15, 2022 for more than 1.5 million people of reproductive age in Indiana.

Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal constitutional right to abortion, Indiana lawmakers convened for a special session to outlaw and eliminate abortion access in the state — rushing Senate Bill 1 to passage in two weeks.

The law bans abortion, with criminal penalties for providers who violate the law, and includes only extraordinarily narrow exceptions that will allow patients to access abortion in only the very rarest circumstances.  For those able to meet the extraordinarily narrow exceptions included in the bill, they will be forced to obtain abortion care at a hospital, as S.B.1 also writes abortion clinics out of the health code.

The lawsuit argues the abortion ban violates both the Indiana Constitution’s right to privacy and equal privileges protections.

You can read the lawsuit below.

Below is the reaction from Indiana Legislative leadership and the Indiana Democratic Party.

Todd Huston, Speaker of the House

  • “We believe the law is constitutional. I’ll continue to monitor this situation but will have no further comment at this time due to the litigation.”

Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray

  • “We set out to pass a bill in the special session that would protect life and support mothers and babies, and that’s what we did. It was always our intent to draft a bill that could withstand a constitutional challenge, and I hope to see that will be the case.”

Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party 

  • “The Indiana Republican Party used $240,000 in taxpayer dollars to pass a near-total abortion ban that is against the beliefs of a majority of Hoosiers. These policies are too extreme for our state, and the ACLU’s action is a necessary step to prevent the dangerous consequences that will follow should Senate Bill 1 become law. The only way to stop the Indiana GOP’s extremist agenda is by voting them out in November, and the Indiana Democratic Party urges Hoosiers to support pro-choice candidates who will restore a woman’s right to choose.