What's Happening in Indiana

INDIANA RIGHT TO KNOW LAW PUT ON HOLD BY STATE COURT
Source: Indianapolis Star; March 4, 2003
Indianapolis, IN -- The pro-life Indiana law that requires women to have in-person counseling 18 hours before having an abortion was temporarily blocked (again) in state court Monday, just a week after it took effect following a favorable decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the first challenge to the law in state court, Marion Superior Court Judge David J. Dreyer granted abortion practitioners' request for a temporary restraining order, pending a hearing March 11. The ruling means women can continue to get the pre-abortion counseling by phone and puts the law back in the legal fray. "It's just strikingly familiar to us," said Staci Schneider, spokeswoman for Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter. "Our role is to defend the laws the legislature passes," she said. "Unfortunately for taxpayers, we'll have to go back to court on this issue."
Indiana lawmakers approved the law in 1995, but it has never been fully enforced. Six abortion businesses and one abortion practitioner turned to federal courts at that time, arguing the law imposed an undue burden on women. They were partially successful in District Court, which upheld the counseling requirement but allowed it to be met by telephone. Last fall, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago overturned the ruling of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton and ordered the law to go into effect. They appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but last week, the high court declined to hear the case, allowing the law to go into effect. Many of the state's 10 to 15 abortion facilities immediately implemented the in-person requirement. Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana, said the restraining order was good news but Planned Parenthood abortion businesses would continue to operate as though the law were in force until next week's hearing.
Three of Planned Parenthood's 38 facilities do abortions, and women will continue to be told they need to come in for counseling at least 18 hours before having an abortion, she said. Beginning last week, Planned Parenthood also increased its fees for abortions because of the additional staff time required for the in-person counseling, said Theresa Browning, director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana. Fees for abortions were increased by $50, to $400 for surgical abortions and $500 for medical, or drug-induced, abortions, Browning said.
Mike Fichter, executive director of Indiana Right to Life, deplored the ruling as a further legal stall. "It's another disappointing delay," he said. "But we're confident that the full (extent) of the law will go into effect eventually."
In 2000, 12,490 women had abortions in Indiana.

Supreme Court Upholds Right to Know Law
Source: Associated Press, Pro-Life Infonet; February 24, 2003
Washington, DC -- The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for an Indiana state law that places some of the nation's best limitations on abortions, including requirements that a woman be counseled face-to-face about abortion risks and offered pictures of what her unborn child might look like. The high court turned down an appeal from Indiana abortion businesses claiming the in-person counseling sessions would force some women to forgo abortions or to have an abortion further into pregnancy.
"This is an outrageous law that leaves many women without access to abortions, or certainly places a heavy burden, an undue burden, on a woman's right to choose," said Kate Michelman, president of the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America. "This is a great victory for Indiana women," says Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter. "For the first time Indiana abortion providers will be required to give women full, factual information on the risks associated with abortion, the alternatives to abortion, and information on fetal development."
The high court action means that Indiana may begin fully enforcing a law passed eight years ago that requires in-person counseling and an 18-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. Similar "Right to Know" laws in other states have proven effective in significantly reducing the number of abortions and encouraging women to choose alternatives. In practice, the Indiana law and similar measures on the books in four other states require women to make two trips to an abortion facility. Opponents of the Indiana law said research showed that similar laws in Mississippi and Utah forced women to not have abortions. Louisiana and Wisconsin also have similar in-person counseling requirements.
"This is just a good, common sense law," notes Fichter. "A woman considering any other type of surgery in Indiana will be told about all of her medical risks and alternatives. But up until now that's been a standard Indiana abortion clinics have failed to live up to. It just makes sense to give women all of the facts before making life-changing decisions." The Supreme Court did not comment in rejecting the case, which could have offered a new opportunity to review when state restrictions on abortion become unconstitutional. Nearly every state places some restriction on the availability of abortion, including requirements that women wait a day or so after requesting an abortion and that they receive certain medical or legal information beforehand. The high court has allowed a variety of restrictions, so long as they do not place an "undue burden" on a woman's ability to get an abortion.
Waiting periods and laws requiring women to get information ahead of time are not new, but Indiana's law goes further than most states in combining the two. Abortion rights supporters claim such restrictions are meant to chip away at the right to an abortion secured by the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade ruling 30 years ago. Abortion opponents generally support such restrictions as reasonable ways to make sure the procedure is performed responsibly, although for many they do not go far enough.
In Indiana, a 1995 law required that women give what the state called "informed consent" before getting an abortion. That means abortion facilities must tell women about alternatives to abortion and about the availability of child support if the pregnancy goes forward. Abortion practitioners also must describe the fetus at its current stage of development and offer to show the woman pictures of a fetus at the same stage. The state Legislature said it intended to inform women about abortions and to try to persuade fewer women to have them. Seven abortion businesses and an abortion practitioner challenged the law in federal court, and the requirement for an in-person interview has never taken effect. Until Monday, women who sought abortions could avoid making two trips by agreeing to hear the state-mandated information over the telephone. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the in-person counseling rule constitutional last year. A majority of a three-judge appeals court panel said the law does not create too great a burden for women, in part because it would waive the counseling requirement in a medical emergency. The case is A Woman's Choice-East Side Women's Clinic v. Newman, 02-935.

Indiana Senate Bans All Human Cloning
January 29, 2003
Indianapolis, IN -- The Indiana Senate voted 47-3 on Monday to ban human cloning in Indiana. Senate Bill 151, sponsored by Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, now heads to the House for further consideration. The proposal, which does not prohibit the cloning of animals or human organs, bans the state from spending money on cloning. Doctors and hospitals would lose their licenses if they knowingly participate in human cloning. The bill faces an uphill battle in the House, which did not give the proposal a hearing last year. "By passing Senate Bill 151 by a 47-3 margin, the Indiana Senate has made the statement in no uncertain terms that human cloning violates the sacredness of life," explained Indiana Right to Life Executive Director Mike Fichter. "Now we hope and pray that the Indiana House will follow the Senate's lead."
The three Senate Democrats voting against the bill were Anita Bowser of Michigan City, Earline Rogers of Gary and Glenn Howard of Indianapolis.

Indiana Right to Life challenges Indiana abortion providers
Indiana Right to Life has challenged Indiana�s abortion providers including Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana to support mandated health and safety standards at Indiana abortion clinics. Four bills to provide basic health and safety standards at Indiana abortion clinics have been introduced in the 2003 Indiana General Assembly by Rep. Bob Bischoff (D-District 68), Rep. Peggy Welch (D-District 60), Rep. Dennis Kruse (R-District 51), and Senator Kent Adams (R-District 9). Since 1981 Indiana abortion clinics have not been subject to any health and safety standards, yet on Jan. 22 Planned Parenthood is hosting a rally in Indianapolis to celebrate thirty years of abortion on demand as a great advance for women�s rights.
�Pet owners entering Indiana veterinary clinics may do so with the full assurance that veterinary clinic standards are in effect to guarantee basic health and safety for animals,� states Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter. �Yet women entering Indiana�s abortion clinics have no such assurances that these clinics are meeting even basic sanitation standards.�
In a press release announcing its rally at the State House on January 22, Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana stated that one of the rally�s objectives is protecting �standards for abortion facilities� yet Planned Parenthood has consistently fought any legislative efforts aimed at mandating health and safety standards. In December the Omaha World-Herald reported that several Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in Nebraska were placed on probation after surprise inspections by the Nebraska Health and Human Services System turned up serious health violations, including evidence that patient gowns and bed linens were not properly sanitized, that the clinics allowed staff to give injections and medications without proper training, and that the clinics lacked a program for preventing, controlling, and investigating infections and communicable diseases. �How do we know that the health and safety violations found in Nebraska�s Planned Parenthood clinics are not present in Indiana�s abortion clinics," asked Fichter. �We don�t. Planned Parenthood just asks women to take its word on it. That�s not good enough.�
Indiana Right to Life is calling on all Indiana abortion clinics to unilaterally and voluntarily offer Indiana Department of Health inspectors and state legislators the invitation to visit abortion clinics unannounced to verify first-hand what conditions women face at these clinics. �If you cannot support laws governing basic abortion clinic health and safety standards for women, you have no right to claim that the best interest of women is at the top of your agenda,� notes Fichter.

Indiana Hospital Renews Abortion Policy, Fight Continues
Source: Porter County Right to Life; September 30, 2002
Valparaiso, IN -- By a 4-3 vote, the Board of Trustees of Porter Memorial Health System in Valparaiso, Indiana, voted on September 25, 2002, to continue performing first- and second-trimester abortions -- and, in fact, actually expanded the reasons that second-trimester abortions will be permitted.
"Porter Memorial Hospital is becoming the second-trimester abortion dumping ground of Northwest Indiana," said Julie Wheeland, president of Porter County Right to Life. "As other hospitals race to get out of the abortion business, our hospital's reputation as the place to go for late abortions will grow beyond belief. This is a very bad business decision for our community hospital. It's a sad day for the citizens of Porter County."
"Since the Board of Trustees has voted to continue and even allow more second-trimester abortions, they owe it to the taxpayers of this county to tell us what type of abortion procedures will be permitted," said Wheeland. "The new Born Alive Infants Protection Act virtually precludes the mid-trimester labor induction abortions that risk a live birth. Will doctors now use the gruesome D&E abortions, where the baby's arms and legs are ripped off one by one with powerful forceps? Tell us how these abortions are going to be done. The taxpayers deserve to know."
Porter Memorial Hospital had agreed in June to undertake a review of abortion policy that would culminate in a decision by the Trustees on September 25. Far from being a devastating blow to Porter County Right to Life, who first requested the policy review, this pro-abortion decision has actually invigorated the pro-life community and enabled activists to continue the battle on new fronts.
"We are not going away," said Julie Wheeland, president of Porter County Right to Life. "We have merely completed Phase One and moved into Phase Two of the fight to oust all abortions from our community hospital." Porter County Right to Life is vehemently protesting the Trustees' vote because it is based on a so-called policy written on July 5, 2002, by PMHS President and CEO Ronald Winger. The group is calling this July 5 document an "end run" around the policy review process the Hospital had announced in June.
The simple facts are as follows:
- On June 13, 2002, PMHS President Ronald Winger wrote to Porter County Right to Life to announce that an abortion policy review process was underway and would culminate in a decision by the Board of Trustees on September 25, 2002
- On June 28, the Hospital presented Porter County Right to Life with a timeline for the review process, which included weekly milestones ending with a decision by the Board of Trustees on September 25.
- At the time this review process was announced in June, the policy governing abortions at PMHS (dated December 1998) restricted second-trimester abortions to those necessary to save the mother's life or prevent substantial permanent impairment to her physical health. Any second-trimester abortion had to be certified in writing that it met these requirements.
- Only one week after this second meeting, on July 5, 2002, PMHS President Ronald Winger unilaterally signed a new abortion "policy" which greatly expanded the reasons second-trimester abortions will be permitted at PMHS. The new "policy" weakened the mother's life/health restrictions to merely "maternal risk" and also added a new reason for second-trimester abortion, namely, "fetal disease." The new "policy" was never adopted by the Board of Trustees.
- Hospital lawyers confirmed that "maternal risk" and "fetal disease" mean whatever the abortionist says they mean. This, in effect, opened wide the floodgates for second-trimester abortion almost without limit.
"How can the Hospital announce a policy review process in June, and then try to put into effect a new policy in July -- two and a half months before the Board of Trustees was scheduled to make its policy decision?" asked Wheeland. "This is unfair. The Board of Trustees did not want to have to face 8,600 petitioners to admit that not only were they going to permit first- and second-trimester abortions, but in fact, they wanted to allow more second-trimester abortions than were permitted under the prior policy."
"By voting on the July 5, 2002 policy and not the December 1998 policy, the Board of Trustees was able to pretend as though it was merely ratifying the long-time status quo policy," said Wheeland. "In fact, the baseline had been quietly and cleverly moved during the abortion review process. The new, broader policy became the de facto policy under consideration. Apparently, the Board hoped nobody would notice. We did and we are holding them accountable." Immediately following the Trustees' decision, Wheeland filed complaints with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. JCAHO is being asked to investigate the unfair abortion policy review process as well as any abortion procedures performed since December 1998. PMHS abortionists have been quoted repeatedly in the media as defending their second-trimester abortions targeting unborn children with disabilities, which does not appear to be permitted under the December 1998 policy.
In addition, in the past few weeks, PMHS abortionists were caught not reporting all of their abortions to the Indiana State Department of Health, as required under Indiana statutes. Some of these unreported abortions go back to 1997 and it is estimated that fewer than half of the abortions performed were reported to ISDH. Under Indiana law, it is a Class B misdemeanor offense to fail to file a Terminated Pregnancy Report on time. In Indiana, this is a 6-month jail term and a fine of $1000 -- per report. It is the physician's responsibility to file the TPRs on time.
The Indiana State Department of Health had initiated an investigation into these discrepancies by writing a letter to the Hospital on September 18. Wheeland made sure the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana was also aware of these problems so that they could conduct a parallel investigation. "Other actions are being pursued simultaneously," said Wheeland, president of the 3,500 member organization. "Naturally, picketing is also being discussed. Our petition drive tallied 8,600 persons living in or near Porter County. These pro-life citizens will be happy to take turns picketing the hospital during visiting hours 7 days a week."
*For a more complete report on the abortion policy dispute and the events of the September 25 Board of Trustees meeting, click here.*

Indiana's Women's Right to Know Law Upheld by Federal Court

*The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh District on Monday upheld the face-to-face provision of Indiana's informed consent law, meaning that any woman seeking an abortion in Indiana must be given information in person about the risks of abortion, alternatives to abortion, and fetal development. Abortionists in Indiana have been fighting this provision since 1995. You can read the full Court of Appeals decision at http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?submit1=showop&caseno=01-2107.PDF*
Source: Indianapolis Star, Pro-Life Infonet; September 17, 2002
Indianapolis, IN -- A federal appeals court Monday revived a pro-life state law requiring women to be presented abortion information in person from an abortion practitioner at least 18 hours before an abortion. Women seeking an abortion in Indiana currently are allowed to get information about abortion and its risks beforehand over the phone. Women in Indiana will now get the information, as well as facts on fetal development, in person.
�This is a major victory for women,� states Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter. �The information required by Indiana law is basic, common sense information that any woman seeking an abortion has a right to know, and there is no other way to deliver this information properly than by face-to-face interaction.� Similar laws in other states have significantly reduced the number of abortions.
It was unclear how soon the 64-page opinion would take effect. One expert said it would be at least three weeks before any changes come into play, but even those involved in the case said they are still reviewing the decision. "We're happy to see that the argument prevailed," said Staci Schneider, press secretary for the attorney general's office, which is representing the state in the lawsuit that eventually led to Monday's ruling. Schneider said she had not read the opinion and could not comment further.
Lawyers for the abortion facilities that filed a suit opposing the law said they are reviewing the opinion. They plan to decide later this week whether to seek another hearing before the full appeals court in Chicago or take the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. "What it amounts to is an obstacle placed in front of women with no corresponding benefit whatsoever," said Simon Heller, an attorney with the pro-abortion New York-based Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.
Pro-life advocates disagreed and argued the law would both reduce the abortion rate and help women choose alternatives. "Women should have the right to know and time to think over the consequences," said Joan Byrum, president of Right to Life of Indianapolis. The appeals court reversed a permanent injunction imposed by U.S. District Judge David Hamilton in March 2001. That injunction prevented the state from enforcing the part of a 1995 law that required women in Indiana to make two trips to the abortion facility -- the first to receive the required information and the second to undergo the abortion. The law requires women seeking an abortion, except in the case of a medical emergency, to be counseled about the risks and alternatives to abortion. They also are to be offered the chance to see pictures or drawings of a fetus at the same stage of development as their own. The person performing the abortion, a referring physician, physician's assistant, nurse or midwife can provide the counseling, which includes information of adoption alternatives.
Seven abortion facilities and an abortion practitioner sued in federal court, alleging the measure violated women's civil rights. Dr. Gregory Wilson, commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health, and Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman were named as defendants. About 16 other states require have Women's Right to Know laws.
"The law will impose an undue burden on women and their constitutional right to choose to end a pregnancy," Hamilton wrote in his permanent order. He found that the two-trip requirement would prevent 10 percent to 13 percent of Indiana women from getting an abortion. But U.S. 7th Circuit Court Judges Frank Easterbrook and John Coffey disagreed. "Pro-life legislation that fails to pose a substantial obstacle for 87 (percent) to 90 percent of a state's women is reasonable, sensible and lawful under the Constitution of the United States and the State of Indiana," Coffey wrote.
Currently, women seeking abortions are sent an information packet before getting counseling over the phone, a representative of an Indianapolis abortion facility said. She arranges conference calls four times a week with women seeking abortions, she said. "I don't feel like we're telling them anything they don't already know," she claimed.

Indiana Abortion Advocates Will Appeal Right to Know Decision
Source: Indianapolis Star-News; September 26, 2002
Indianapolis, IN -- Attorneys for abortion practitioners want to ask all 11 appeals court judges in Chicago to hear their arguments against a pro-life Indiana law that provides women with information about abortion risks, alternatives and fetal development prior to having an abortion. A three-judge panel of the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals last week revived the law by overturning an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge David Hamilton in March 2001.
Ken Falk, attorney for the pro-abortion Indiana Civil Liberties Union, said the petition for the full hearing will be filed by Monday. When that petition is filed, it also triggers a continued "stay" -- meaning the law's requirements continue to be put on hold, Falk said. So for now, women will not receive unbiased information about abortion from the abortion facility which may prompt them change their minds. "The information required by Indiana law is basic, common sense information that any woman seeking an abortion has a right to know, and there is no other way to deliver this information properly than by face-to-face interaction," Indiana Right to Life executive director Mike Fichter explained. Similar laws in other states have significantly reduced the number of abortions.
There's no way to predict when the appeals court will decide whether to grant or deny a full hearing or when that hearing would be. If it is denied, attorneys for the abortion facilities that challenged the law also would have to decide whether to seek a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Seven abortion facilities and an abortion practitioner challenged the law in federal court, saying it violates women's civil rights. The abortion businessess are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend.
Hamilton agreed the law placed an "undue burden" on women and would prevent 10 percent to 13 percent of Indiana women from getting abortions. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 12,443 legal abortions were performed in Indiana in 1998. The Indiana attorney general's office has not been informed of the ICLU request, a spokeswoman said.

Indiana County Bucks National Trend of Declining Abortions

Source: Associated Press; October 13, 2002
Bloomington, IN -- The number of abortions performed in Indiana's Monroe County rose about 28 percent from 1995 to 2001, in contrast with a national abortion rate decline cited in a new survey. Nationally, the rate fell 11 percent between 1994 and 2000, from 24 to 21 abortions for every 1,000 women of childbearing age, the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute reported last week. The institute is affiliated with Planned Parenthood. But in Monroe County, the number of abortions grew from 610 in 1995 to 840 in 2001. That means the average number of abortions performed each week at the Bloomington Planned Parenthood clinic rose from 12 to more than 16.
Betty Cockrum, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana, said that in 1995, abortion services may have been offered at more locations in southern Indiana than they are today. "Right now, our Bloomington clinic is the only Planned Parenthood outpatient facility that performs abortions in southern Indiana," she said. "If there were other such facilities in southern Indiana in 1995, that would have an impact on the data."
Mike Fichter, executive director of Indiana Right to Life attributed the rise in the number of abortions in Monroe County to marketing by Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana. "They advertise their abortion clinic in Bloomington heavily on rock radio stations and spend a lot of money targeting college students," Fichter said. "When you put that kind of money into propping up the abortion industry, you're naturally going to see an increase in the number of abortions."

Indianapolis Newspaper Editorial Chides Pro-Aborts for Suing Pro-Life Law
Source: Indianapolis Star; December 20, 2002
Our position is: Continued litigation over Indiana's abortion counseling law is ridiculous. Here we go again. Seven years after it was passed by the General Assembly, an abortion counseling law remains in legal limbo. The law requires a woman to have in-person medical counseling 18 hours before undergoing an abortion. The latest, and presumably final, intervention by opponents is an appeal to the nation's highest court. This week, attorneys for seven health clinics that have challenged the law since its passage petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case. It will likely be several months before the court announces whether or not it will grant the request.
Meanwhile, the law has withstood one attack after another, beginning with a veto by former Gov. Evan Bayh. In 1995, U.S. District Judge David Hamilton issued a temporary injunction to prevent enforcement of the in-person counseling provision. In 1997, Hamilton permitted counseling by phone, an opinion later overruled by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Now the petition to the Supreme Court. From the outset, challengers have argued the demand for in-person counseling forces women to make two trips to an abortion clinic and thus places an undue burden on poor women and those living in rural areas of the state. Yet nowhere does the law mandate two trips to a clinic. Counseling may be given by the doctor performing the abortion, by a personal or local physician, a physician's assistant, a nurse or midwife.
In rejecting Hamilton's approval of phone counseling, the appellate court said, "Pro-life legislation that fails to pose a substantial obstacle for 87 percent to 90 percent of a state's women is reasonable, sensible and lawful under the Constitution of the United States and the State of Indiana." Earlier, the court made a similar ruling in a case challenging the in-person counseling feature of a Wisconsin abortion law. More often than not, the simplest form of surgery requires prior medical consultation and discussion, maybe a second opinion. Surely it is both reasonable and sensible to require that women seeking an abortion be fully informed of the dangers involved and the alternatives available to them. At risk is a growing, sensate human life, a reality we earnestly hope the Supreme Court recognizes.

Indiana Right to Life News

Vanderburgh County Right to Life Banquet
Scott Klusendorf of Stand to Reason will deliver the keynote address at the April 19, 2004 Vanderburgh County Right to Life spring banquet at the Centre in Evansville. Special musical guest will be Dove Award winning artist Cheri Keaggy. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 812-474-3195 or email vcrtl@lovethemboth.com.

Purchase your Indiana Choose Life plate now!
It's never been easier to purchase your own Indiana Choose Life license plate. Just visit the special Choose Life link at http://www.lovethemboth.com today and place an order for plates for all of your vehicles. It's a great way to show your support for the Sanctity of Life and to help support Indiana Right to Life's efforts to promote positive alternatives to abortion.
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