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Indiana Pays Out $182,000 Over 2016 Abortion Lawsuit

Protesters gather at the Indiana Statehouse in 2016 to denounce an anti-abortion measure signed into law by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
FILE PHOTO: Brandon Smith/IPB News
Protesters gather at the Indiana Statehouse in 2016 to denounce an anti-abortion measure signed into law by then-Gov. Mike Pence.

The state of Indiana will pay more than $180,000 in attorneys fees after one of several legal battles over an anti-abortion law wrapped up.

That adds to a growing amount the state has been racking up over the last decade.

A 2016 law banned abortions performed because of a fetus’s characteristics – like gender, race or disability. It also required medical facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains. A lawsuit over that measure lasted until the middle of 2019, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the first provision while upholding the second.

Since the case was resolved, a federal court recently settled the legal fees that resulted. And the state was ordered to pay $182,000 to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood.

Since 2011, Indiana has paid out nearly $3 million because of losses in court over anti-abortion laws.

Contact Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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