Judge To Hear Arguments Over 2019 Indiana Abortion Lawsuit

A federal judge in Indianapolis will hear arguments Monday over the latest lawsuit challenging an Indiana anti-abortion law.

It’s the eighth such challenge over the last nine years.

The 2019 legislation largely bans the second trimester procedures known as dilation and evacuation abortions, or D&Es. Doctors who perform D&Es would be subject to a Level 5 felony and could be sued in civil court by the woman who undergoes the procedure, the father of the fetus, and the woman’s parents.

Proponents of the bill call D&Es a “barbaric” practice. But many in the medical community say it’s the safest way to terminate a pregnancy in the second trimester. And there are only about a couple dozen performed in Indiana each year.

At least seven D&E bans in other states have been blocked in the courts. The ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of physician Caitlin Bernard – who performs the procedures – sued the state the day after the bill was signed into law.