Judge Blocks New Indiana Abortion Law

INDIANAPOLIS -- U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has blocked a new Indiana law that bans abortions sought because of a fetus' genetic abnormalities, saying the state does not have the authority to limit a woman's reasons for ending a pregnancy. 

Pratt granted a preliminary injunction Thursday, a day before the law was scheduled to take effect. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky had challenged the law.

Indiana and North Dakota are the only states with laws banning abortions that are sought due to fetal genetic abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, or because of the race, sex or ancestry of a fetus. It also requires that aborted fetuses be buried or cremated.

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued the state in April, saying the law is unconstitutional and violates women's privacy rights. 

An attorney for Indiana argued before Pratt earlier this month that the state has an interest in "preventing discrimination" against fetuses with genetic abnormalities, such as Down syndrome.