The Indiana Attorney General’s Office does not plan to appeal a judge’s decision to temporarily block a law banning discriminatory abortions on babies with genetic disorders like Down Syndrome, WLFI News 18 reports.
The news does not mean the state has given up fighting for the law, only that it will not appeal the temporary injunction. Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit challenging the law in April, and Federal Judge Tanya Walton Pratt temporarily blocked it from going into effect in June. Pratt has not yet decided whether to permanently block the law.
On Tuesday, Bryan Corbin, a spokesman for the state attorney general, said their office reviewed the case and decided not to appeal the temporary injunction “at this point.” If the judge decides to permanently block the law, they “would likely appeal that,” Corbin said, according to the Associated Press.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, now Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, signed the bill earlier this year to protect unborn babies from being aborted simply because of a disability, race or sex.
The Dignity for the Unborn law, House Bill 1337, bans abortion doctors from knowingly aborting an unborn baby solely because of a genetic disability such as Down syndrome, the unborn baby’s race or sex. The law also has several other abortion-related measures, including a requirement that aborted or miscarried babies’ bodies be cremated or buried and another requirement that abortionists who have hospital admitting privileges renew them annually.
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The Indianapolis Business Journal reports more:
American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said Planned Parenthood would now move for summary judgment in the case. Briefing alone on that motion will extend beyond the Nov. 8 general election, he said. That means the decision on whether to appeal Pratt’s ruling is likely to be made by whomever voters elect in November as governor and attorney general.
Pence is running for vice president with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, while [state Attorney General Greg Zoeller] opted not to seek another term as AG after losing a Republican primary for a congressional race. Democrat John Gregg and Republican Eric Holcomb are running for governor; Democrat Lorenzo Arredondo and Republican Curtis Hill are the candidates for attorney general.
Indiana Right to Life predicted that Judge Pratt, who was appointed by President Obama, would block law from taking effect. Pratt has a history of siding with the abortion lobby. She previously blocked provisions of a 2011 Indiana law that denied taxpayer funds to abortion businesses and required that pregnant women be told about an unborn child’s ability to feel pain.
“Abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood turn to activist judges anytime they believe their lucrative businesses are threatened,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, after Pratt temporarily blocked the law.
“It is no surprise that a judge appointed by Obama with a history of ruling against pro-life measures would block the Dignity for the Unborn law,” Fichter continued.
Gov. Pence delivered eloquent remarks when he signed the legislation.
“Throughout my public career, I have stood for the sanctity of life. HEA 1337 is a comprehensive pro-life measure that affirms the value of all human life, which is why I signed it into law today,” Pence said in a statement.
Pence continued: “I believe that a society can be judged by how it deals with its most vulnerable—the aged, the infirm, the disabled and the unborn. HEA 1337 will ensure the dignified final treatment of the unborn and prohibits abortions that are based only on the unborn child’s sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry, or disability, including Down syndrome.”
