Attorney General Curtis Hill continues to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn a lower court’s ruling invalidating an Indiana law requiring fetal ultrasounds at least 18 hours prior to abortions. In July of 2018, a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s injunction against the law, expressing the view that it placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions.
This week, Attorney General Hill filed the state’s latest brief in the case Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
The Indiana law at issue essentially combines two Indiana statutes that have been on the books for years. In 1995, the Indiana General Assembly passed the informed-consent statute, which specified that a woman must receive, in person, information relevant to abortion and childbirth at least 18 hours before an abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar statute in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
Then, in 2011, Indiana legislators passed another law requiring an ultrasound be performed before an abortion. The law required medical staff to show the ultrasounds to women seeking abortions unless the women expressed in writing that they did not wish to see them. In 2016, lawmakers added the provision at issue in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, stipulating that the required ultrasound take place at the informed-consent appointment at least 18 hours before the abortion procedure.
“For women considering abortions, ultrasounds are an important part of informed-consent counseling,” Attorney General Hill said. “Anyone interested in protecting women’s health, including their mental health, should support giving them as much information as possible to aid their decision-making. Empowering women with knowledge is fully consistent with the U.S. Constitution.”
