INDIANAPOLIS — It’s been a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.
Since then, we’ve seen the Indiana General Assembly pass a near-total abortion ban, but the procedure is still legal as the law is being challenged in the State Supreme Court.
Providers like Planned Parenthood say they have seen an increase in people seeking abortions from out of state. Due to this, they’ve had to hire and train more staff.
Planned Parenthood temporarily paused their abortion care at their location on Georgetown Road from Dec. 2022 until last week.
“We were still providing abortions in Merrillville, Lafayette, Bloomington and now are providing care at Georgetown,” Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Indiana, said.
That pause on abortion procedures in Indianapolis is something abortion fund providers say put a strain on patients seeking access.
“Abortion care and abortion access has become less accessible over the past year, although we are doing everything we can to try and ease some of that burden for families and people,” Jessica Marchbank, State Programs Director for All Options Pregnancy Resource Center, said.
All Options Pregnancy Resource Center helps women get an abortion if they cannot afford it or are unable to find a clinic.
WRTV talked with Marchbank last year. She says they are preparing for a future where abortion isn’t accessible in Indiana.
“We now have a funding relationship with over 60 abortion care providers,” Marchbank said. “If the ban were to go back into effect, we would be able to help Hoosiers access care in multiple other states.”
Whether or not abortion will remain accessible in Indiana is up to the State Supreme Court. They are currently weighing in on a challenge of constitutionality of the law passed by the legislature.
“What the Indiana Supreme Court is considering is whether liberty encompasses the right to get an abortion. That is more liberal than the law that was proposed by the legislature,” Jody Maderia, Law Professor at Indiana University, said.
The Indiana Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the abortion law by the end of this month. However, even if they rule in favor of the legislature, another challenge to the law will also prevent the ban from going into effect right away.
"There is still the religious freedom lawsuit, which could prove to be a game changer. Again, there is an injunction which restricts the law from going into effect," Madeira said.
A spokesperson for the Indiana Supreme Court said the end of the fiscal year is June 30. That means we could have a ruling on the state's abortion law by next week.
