Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill
INDIANAPOLIS - The Los Angeles Times has reported that the State of Indiana plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the 2016 Dignity for the Unborn Law. The law prohibits abortions for the sole reasons of the child’s race, sex, national origin or a potential disability, like Down syndrome.
The 2016 Dignity for the Unborn Law, signed by then-Governor Mike Pence, was blocked by a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“Indiana last week told the high court that the state plans to appeal the lower court’s decision while asking for additional time to file its petition,” according to Jennifer Haberkorn.
Judge Tonya Walton Pratt
The Dignity for the Unborn Law deals with more than just discriminatory abortions. The law prohibits abortion businesses from treating the remains of unborn child as common medical waste. It also contains a provision that gives a woman seeking an abortion the opportunity to view an ultrasound of her unborn child at least 18 hours prior to an abortion. These portions of the law were also blocked by lawsuits brought by PPINK and the ACLU. The law was first struck by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
“On behalf of unborn children and women, we extend our thanks to Attorney General Curtis Hill and the State of Indiana for bringing the Dignity for the Unborn Law all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. “We urge the Supreme Court to take up this case. We cannot fathom that the high court will agree with Planned Parenthood’s arguments that it is constitutional to target unborn children for abortion because of their sex, race or a Down syndrome diagnosis.”