Indiana pro-life law goes into effect

Abortion centers across Indiana lost their licenses to perform abortions Thursday as authorities start to enforce a new Indiana that protects babies in most cases. Republicans in Indiana agreed on the law in a two-week special session last month, making the state the first to pass a pro-life law that was not a so-called “trigger law,” taking effect after the Supreme Court ruling against abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed two lawsuits in the past two weeks to try to stop the law from going into effect, but so far, a judge has not blocked it. 

What are the exceptions? The new law protects babies in every case except rape or incest before the tenth week of pregnancy, and also to save the life or protect the physical health of the mother. It additionally makes an exception for babies that are diagnosed with a fatal abnormality. The law says abortions can only happen in hospitals, but many abortion centers in the state will stay open as pregnancy centers. Any doctor that performs an illegal abortion would be stripped of his license, face felony charges, and could be punished by up to six years in prison. 

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals about activists’ fears that hostility after Roe v. Wade could scare some young people away from the pro-life cause.