Planned Parenthood drops suit against ultrasound law

Women in Indiana will have to have an ultrasound 18 hours before getting an abortion starting in January 2021. Vice President Mike Pence signed the law in 2016 when he was the state’s governor, but a federal judge and an appeals court blocked its enforcement in 2017. State Attorney General Curtis Hill, a Republican, announced Thursday that Planned Parenthood withdrew its suit against the ultrasound rule. “The law simply allows for a mother to see her unborn baby growing in the womb at the time she receives additional informed consent materials—well before the abortion,” said Sue Liebel, state policy director at the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List.

Why did Planned Parenthood back down? The Supreme Court in June said state laws protecting babies were constitutional if they did not “substantially” burden the ability to get an abortion. Planned Parenthood’s legal team believed the Indiana law would pass that new test. The abortion giant asked for a few months to train its staff to provide the required ultrasounds before the law takes effect, WBIW-AM in Bloomington, Ind., reported.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Samantha Gobba’s report on the original rejection of the Indiana law.