On Thursday, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana seeking an injunction to prevent its recent abortion law from taking effect on July 1.
If you haven’t heard about the garbage law: It would hold doctors liable for abortions performed because of a fetus’s race, sex, or a diagnosis of any disability — no matter if the fetus wouldn’t survive outside the womb. Women seeking an abortion would need an ultrasound 18 hours before the procedure and, the pièce de résistance: a requirement that fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages be cremated or buried.
Some Indiana women who disagree with the law have been tweeting and calling the Governor about their periods in case they’re actually miscarriages. They don’t want to get in trouble, you know.
The suit alleges that the law is unconstitutional because it puts an undue burden on women’s right to choose an abortion as granted under Roe v. Wade in 1973, and that fetal cremation is an unnecessary and costly requirement that isn’t in place for other types of medical procedures.
Unsurprisingly, the governor’s office disagrees. A spokesperson issued this statement: “We will work with the Attorney General to defend the law that enhances information expectant mothers receive and enhances protection for the unborn.” Because this law really does make things so much better for women.
