No Rehearing In 2017 Indiana Anti-Abortion Lawsuit

Federal appeals court judges want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a question posed by an Indiana anti-abortion law.

That's the latest in the long legal battle over a 2017 Hoosier statute.

Indiana law requires girls under 18 to get parental permission for an abortion. But if parents can’t or won’t give that consent, girls can get a court to waive the requirement. The 2017 legislation signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb said courts should decide whether to tell parents about that hearing.

The measure’s opponents said the law would scare girls off from trying to access abortion. And both a federal district court and a three-judge panel at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

Attorney General Curtis Hill appealed again, asking the appellate court to rehear the case, including before all 11 judges at the 7th Circuit. That was denied.

But Appellate Judge Frank Easterbrook writes that this and other abortion issues around the country need, in his words, “an authoritative answer” – one that can only be provided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Another Indiana anti-abortion law, from 2016, is already awaiting action by the nation's high court.

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