Indiana Supreme Court upholds
waiting period for abortion
By Mary Ann Wyand
Pro-life supporters are celebrating the Indiana Supreme Court’s Nov. 23 ruling upholding the legality of informed consent and an 18-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion in the Hoosier state.
The state court’s 4-1 decision overturned a decade-long challenge to a 1995 Indiana law that requires women to receive in-person counseling about the medical risks of abortion and alternative choices available to them then wait 18 hours before undergoing the surgical procedure that terminates pregnancy.
The informed consent law introduced by State Sen. R. Michael Young (R-Indi-anapolis) was passed by the Indiana Legislature 10 years ago then was vetoed by former Democratic Gov. Evan Bayh. Legislators overrode the governor’s veto, but implementation of the law was delayed by a series of appeals from abortion providers on the state and national levels.
The Clinic for Women in Indianapolis and other abortion providers have opposed the law since its passage on the grounds that the waiting period violates women’s right to privacy and creates a hardship by requiring two trips to an abortion clinic.
Pro-life supporters argued that women have the right to be told what happens to their bodies and how babies are killed during abortions.
Last week, state court justices determined that the law “does not impose a material burden on any right to privacy or abortion that may be provided or protected” by the Indiana Constitution.
The justices said they were not ruling on whether the constitution included a right to privacy or abortion.
Justice Robert Rucker wrote the court’s ruling, which stated that reviews of U.S. Supreme Court and other state court decisions on abortion “persuade us that the Indiana statute does not impose a substantial obstacle to a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy.”
Justice Theodore Boehm, the only judge who dissented from the ruling, said a woman’s decision “to carry a nonviable fetus to term” or abort the pregnancy is “an intensely personal one,” and the “government has no role in seeking to take sides in … debates over matters of conscience.”
In a separate opinion, Justice Brent Dickson wrote that he would prefer that the state court “explicitly declare that the Indiana Constitution does not protect any alleged right to abortion.”
Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry, praised the state court ruling as “a significant step forward in protecting women’s rights” and saving the lives of unborn babies.
“The whole point of the ruling is to guarantee that women who seek abortions understand the surgical procedure and its consequences,” Sister Diane said on Nov. 23. “Giving women 18 hours to consider the life-altering decision to abort [a baby] may lead some to make life-giving choices.”
She said “it should be noted that the millions of post-abortive women who suffer from the emotional, psychological and physical complications of the procedure would see informed consent as sane, humane and pro-woman.”
However, she said, “the abortion industry and their collaborators, of course, would view this ruling negatively. One does not have to imagine why.”
Glenn Tebbe, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, the Church’s public policy voice on state and national matters, said on Nov. 27 he is glad that Marion County Superior Court Judge Gerald Zore’s decision was upheld and hopes the state court’s decision ends the legal battles over the implementation and enforcement of this law.
Tebbe said he is “pleased with the [state court’s] strong decision affirming our position that informed consent and time to consider the consequences are not burdens for anyone considering abortion.”
He said “having an abortion is obviously a very serious decision, one filled with many consequences, not only for
the baby but for the mother, too.”
Speaking on behalf of Indiana’s five Catholic bishops and dioceses, Tebbe said, “We think giving someone time to consider all of these things is just prudent.”
Mike Fichter, executive director of Indiana Right to Life, said on Nov. 23 that the state court’s ruling “is a common sense victory for women in Indiana, who have a right to know all of the facts prior to making abortion decisions as well as the time to reflect upon this information.”
Fichter said “the court has now confirmed that the 18-hour waiting period is not an undue burden, but rather a reasonable and necessary requirement to ensure that women are not rushed or pressured into decisions that will impact their own lives and the lives of their unborn children.”
He said this ruling effectively brings to an end the legal challenges that abortion providers have used in the federal and state courts to try and block Indiana’s abortion waiting period.
“The federal appeal ended when the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal,” Fichter said, “and now the state appeal has ended with the Indiana Supreme Court issuing today’s ruling.”
St. Luke parishioner Joan Byrum of Indianapolis, president of Right to Life of Indianapolis, said on Nov. 29 she is “so pleased that after 10 years women are going to get information that is needed.”
Byrum said “we give people who smoke [medical] information on the side of cigarette packs, but [abortion providers don’t] want to give women information on abortion. This is the most critical decision of their entire lives, and they need to have all the information they can have in time to think about this enormous decision.”
Nationally, 22 other states have laws requiring waiting periods for abortions. †