Indiana lawmakers passed a near total abortion ban after the US Supreme Court overturned its landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Indiana’s ban went into effect in August 2023.
The ban only allows an abortion if the pregnant person’s serious health or life is at risk; if there’s a lethal fetal anomaly up to 20 weeks post-fertilization; and in cases of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks.
Since then, various groups have challenged the rule.
The Indiana Court of Appeals heard closing testimony earlier this month that challenged the scope of the ban.
It upheld a preliminary injunction in April that the ban violates the religious beliefs of some Hoosiers.
Since the ban went into effect abortion clinics, like one in South Bend, have closed their doors.
The New York Times reported an estimated 171,000 people traveled out of state for an abortion or to obtain an abortion pill in 2023.
Medication abortions are on the rise, accounting for more than 60 percent of abortions in 2023.
In Indiana, the pill is illegal 10 weeks after a person’s last period and must be administered by a doctor.
Despite Indiana’s ban, births decreased slightly in Indiana in 2023.
This week, we’ll talk with guests about the landscape of reproductive care in Indiana.
You can follow us on X @WFIUWTIUNews or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show to news@indianapublicmedia.org.
You can also record your questions and send them in through email.
Guests
Haddie Katz, Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House
Forest Beeley, All Options State Programs Manager
Jody Madeira, Richard S. Melvin Professor of Law, Co-Director, Center for Law, Society & Culture
Kristen Jozkowski, William L. Yarber Endowed Professor in Sexual Health Department of Applied Health Science