Anti-abortion group asks Indiana Supreme Court to release terminated pregnancy reports

An anti-abortion group is asking the Indiana Supreme Court to step into a legal fight over records of women whose pregnancies were terminated.

The request is the latest development in a lengthy dispute over whether records detailing abortions performed in Indiana — known as terminated pregnancy reports — can be released publicly. Indiana is under a near-total abortion ban after the state Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the ban does not violate the state constitution. 

Doctors are required under state law to file a terminated pregnancy report with the Indiana Department of Health for every abortion performed. The reports include anonymized information about a patient’s demographics and medical care, but not a patient’s name.

The dispute began after Voices for Life requested the reports under Indiana’s public records law. When the state signaled it would release them, two Indiana OB-GYNs filed a lawsuit against the state health commissioner and Voices for Life, arguing that even redacted reports could be used to identify patients or providers and put them at risk.

In early 2025, a Marion County judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Indiana Department of Health from releasing the reports while the case moved forward.

The trial court later sided with the doctors and blocked the records from being released. The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.

Now, Voices for Life has filed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the case and reverse the lower court decisions.

“Terminated Pregnancy Reports are not just compliance forms. They are indispensable tools for identifying patterns that affect maternal health, enforce legal requirements, and shape effective policy,” said Patrick Gillen, senior counsel at Thomas More Society, in a public statement. 

“Public transparency ensures the safety of women and their preborn children and allows citizens to engage in self-government. As pro-life activists around the state gather for the March for Life this week, we ask the Supreme Court to honor the will of pro-life Hoosiers and restore access to these critical reports.” 

What’s next

Under Indiana Supreme Court rules, the opposing parties have 20 days to respond to the petition. The petitioner then has 10 days to file a reply.

“After the case is fully briefed, it is transmitted to the Supreme Court. There is no specific timeline for when the Court might decide to take up this case,” the court said in a statement to WFYI. “All matters are considered in due course.” Attorneys for the doctors have argued that releasing the records would cause irreversible harm. 

“Yet again anti-abortion politicians in Indiana are fixated on violating pregnant people’s rights by exposing their personal health information,” said Tanya Pellegrini, co-director of litigation, at the Lawyering Project.

“The Lawyering Project will continue to stand by health care providers as they work to protect the medical records of their patients from anti-abortion extremists.” 

Last year, Katherine Jack, who represents the physicians, said the decision could not be undone.

“The bell cannot be unrung,” Jack said.

Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI and Side Effects Public Media. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org.