A federal appeals court struck down provisions in an Indiana law that required ultrasounds prior to abortions as unconstitutional.
The ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds an April 2017 decision by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt in favor of abortion chain Planned Parenthood, which challenged the Indiana law requiring women to undergo an ultrasound at least 18 hours prior to having an abortion.
The 2017 decision found that the law, HEA 1337, created “undue” burdens on women.
Two other portions of the law – one banning abortions sought because of genetic abnormalities, and a second requiring that aborted fetuses be buried or cremated – were also ruled unconstitutional by Pratt.
If Indiana appeals, the case could head to the Supreme Court.
Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter, tells LifeNews, the blockage of this law in 2017 has already resulted in an increase in abortion in Indiana.
“The court’s ruling denies women the right to see ultrasound images of their unborn babies at least 18 hours before an abortion. The blockage of this law in 2017 is already resulting in a sharp rise in abortions in Indiana, as well as a major spike in out-of-state women coming to Indiana for abortions. Sadly, many women will proceed with having an abortion without ever seeing the humanity of their unborn babies on display through ultrasound imaging," Fichter says.