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 The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Tanya
Walton Pratt on Friday, was the result of a lawsuit brought last
year by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky against Indiana's
Department of Health and local officials.
The Indiana ultrasound measure was part of a renewed push by
abortion opponents in the United States to restrict access to the
procedure.
"These burdens are clearly undue when weighed against the almost
complete lack of evidence that the law furthers the State’s asserted
justifications of promoting fetal life and women’s mental health
outcomes," Pratt wrote in her 53-page ruling.
There are six Planned Parenthood locations that provide the
ultrasound services, meaning women who do not live near the centers
have to travel to reach them, which could be costly, Pratt wrote.
"For women faced with the already high costs of an abortion and a
lack of means to afford them, the additional expenses of lengthy
travel, lost wages, and child care created by the new ultrasound law
create a significant burden," the ruling said.
The ultrasound mandate was in a larger package of abortion
restrictions signed into law last year by Vice President Mike Pence,
who was serving as governor of the state at the time.
The Indiana State Department of Health directed questions to the
attorney general's office, which did not immediately respond to
request for comment.
The law took effect on July 1, 2016. Prior to that, women still
needed an ultrasound to have an abortion, but the time frame of when
it needed to happen was not specified.
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Nine women were unable to undergo abortions because of the stricter
ultrasound regulation, according to the ruling.
"This is a major victory for women in the state. It's a major
victory for Planned Parenthood," Ken Falk, legal director at ACLU in
Indiana, told members of the media at a news conference on Monday.
Some 25 U.S. states have laws regarding ultrasounds and abortions,
but only three states require medical staff to display and describe
the images, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit
group focusing on health issues.
(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by Andrew Hay
and Lisa Shumaker)
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