Indiana Law Goes Into Effect That Will Save Babies From Abortions

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 8, 2022   |   11:31AM   |   Indianapolis, Indiana

A pro-life law will now go into effect thanks to a judge lifting the injunction against it following the Supreme Court’s monumental decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

After the Dobbs decision two weeks ago, Attorney General Todd Rokita quickly asked the courts to lift injunctions against multiple pro-life laws that would protect babies from abortions. Rokita asked courts to lift injunctions against several Indiana abortion laws following the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey rulings. The rejection of those woefully misguided precedents means states now have much greater authority to enact and enforce laws regarding abortion.

Late Thursday, Judge Sarah Evans Barker lifted the injunction agaisnt a late-term abortion ban that will protect babies from gruesome abortions like dismemberment abortions that tear off their limbs.

The AG said he would fight for pro-life laws like this one.

“Like most Hoosiers, I believe in building a culture of life in Indiana,” Attorney General Rokita said in a statement previously. “That means protecting the lives of unborn babies and safeguarding the physical, mental and emotional well-being of their mothers. I’ll do everything in my power to advance this mission.”

“Indiana has a long history of defending life,” Attorney General Rokita said, “and the Supreme Court has recognized these contributions. Indeed, the Dobbs decision expressly cited multiple Indiana cases — such as our battles to outlaw discriminatory abortion and require respectful disposition of the bodies of aborted babies.”

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The Indiana laws for which Attorney General Rokita is asking courts to lift injunctions include:

  • a ban on discriminatory abortions sought specifically because of the unborn child’s race, sex, or disability
  • a ban on dismemberment abortions, in which living unborn children are dismembered piece by piece
  • a requirement that parents be notified when a court approves an abortion for a minor child without parental consent (barring extenuating circumstances such as reason to believe such notification could endanger the child)

In addition, Attorney General Rokita already has obtained a court-filed stipulation that halts expansion plans by abortion providers Whole Woman’s Health Alliance and Planned Parenthood in the cities of South Bend and Evansville, respectively.

Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter told LifeNews he’s delighted by the news.

“The AG’s swift action today to move Indiana forward in the wake of Friday’s ruling underscores the commitment our leaders have to protecting life. These cases challenged Indiana‘s prohibition on late-term abortion and abortion of children based on discriminatory reasons, such as race, sex and even the national origin of the mother. Today’s action demonstrates that our Indiana leaders realize every life has value, and everyone deserves to be born,” he said.

Meanwhile, the state legislature in the Hoosier State is looking at a special session that could include passing an abortion ban.

As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.

Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.

Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.

Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.

Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

This is a landmark day for the Pro-Life movement and our entire nation. After staining the moral fabric of our country for nearly 50 years, Roe v. Wade is no more.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.

Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.