Abortion in Indiana

Abortion in Indiana was illegal except in cases of rape or incest before 10 weeks post-fertilization, for fatal fetal abnormalities, or to preserve the life and physical health of the mother.[1] In the wake of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court ruling, Indiana outlawed most abortions, with certain exceptions. However, on 22 September 2022, this law was blocked by Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon, thus effectively returning the status of legal abortions in Indiana to prior conditions.[2] On January 12, 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court will begin hearings on whether the state's ban on abortion violates its state constitution.[3]

By 1950, the state legislature had tried to pass a law criminalizing women seeking or having abortions. By the early 2000s, the state had passed a law banning abortions after 22 weeks because they alleged that the fetus can feel pain. In 2007, the state had a customary informed consent provision for abortions in place. In 2018, the state legislature tried and failed to make abortion illegal in almost all cases.

The number of abortion clinics in the state has been declining in recent years, going from thirty in 1982 to nineteen in 1992 to nine in 2014. There were 9,765 legal abortions in 2014 and 9,546 in 2015. At least one protest as part of #StopTheBans took place in the state in May 2019. Indiana has also seen violence as a result of anti-abortion rights activities.

According to a poll conducted in late 2022 by the Indiana Public Broadcasting-Ball State Hoosier Survey, more than 80% of Hoosiers believe an abortion ban should have at least some exceptions, and more than 50% say abortion should be legal in most cases.[4] Additionally, around 78% believe that abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest, and 62% say abortion should be legal if the fetus is likely to be born with severe disabilities or health problems.[4] Moreover, these results remain strong even among Republicans.[4] For example, 67% of Republicans polled said that abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest; in cases of severe disabilities or health problems, 47% of Republicans polled stated that abortion should be legal.[4] Contrarily, 44% of Republicans polled said that abortion should not be legal in cases of severe disabilities or health problems.[4] The Hoosier Survey polled 600 people in late October 2022 and early November 2022 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.[4] The interviews were conducted by telephone (42 by landline and 257 by cell phone) and 301 online.[4]

History

Early history

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[5] In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[5] The late 1800s saw various court cases concerning the state of abortion, with most focused on the providers rather than the young women impacted. One case that gained nationwide notice was that of Eliza Francis Levesay, a young woman from a poor family in Decatur County, Indiana, located southeast of the state capitol, Indianapolis. Levesay had an affair with a young man from a wealthy family named William Miers, which resulted in her becoming pregnant and seeking an abortion. Levesay obtained an illegal abortion at the office of Dr. C. C. Burns, a local dentist. After the procedure, Levesay became ill and was treated by a physician, who reported her case to the state authorities. A thorough investigation was conducted into her case; however, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, and the case was dismissed.[6]

By 1950, the state legislature would pass a law that stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it were guilty of a criminal offense.[5]

2000s developments

The state passed a law in the 2000s banning abortions after 22 weeks based on the theory that this is the point in development after which the fetus can feel pain.[7] The state was one of ten states in 2007 to have a customary informed consent provision for abortions.[8] In 2011, the state was one of six where the legislature introduced a bill that would have banned abortion in almost all cases. It did not pass.[9] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) had provisions related to admitting privileges and licensing. They required clinics have hospital privileges or some similar agreement.[10]

The state legislature passed the "Sex Selective and Disability Abortion Ban" in 2016. The bill banned abortions based solely on the fetus's gender, race, ethnicity or detected disability, holding the doctors that perform them liable, and requiring women undergoing abortions to be notified of this 18 hours before the operation. The bill also demanded that aborted fetus be treated as deceased humans, requiring clinics to bury or incinerate the bodies if the woman did not take control of this. The bill was set to go into effect in July 2016, but courts enjoined a permanent injunction against the bill's provisions on the basis these violation the right to an abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The challenge to the injunctions reached the Supreme Court of the United States by May 2019, where the Court's per curiam decision in Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc. reversed the injunction on the fetal disposal aspect, stating that had no impact on a woman's right to an abortion. The Supreme Court did not rule on any merits of the non-discriminator clauses, leaving the permanent injunction in place.

In 2018, the state was one of eleven where the legislature introduced a bill that would have banned abortion in almost all cases but were unsuccessful in passing it.[9] Nationally, 2019 was one of the most active years for state legislatures in terms of trying to pass abortion rights restrictions.  State governments with Republican majorities started to push these bills after Brett M. Kavanaugh was confirmed as a US Supreme Court judge, replacing the more liberal Anthony Kennedy. These state governments generally saw this as a sign that new moves to restrict abortion rights would less likely face resistance by the courts.[9] The Indiana Legislature passed a ban of the most common type of second-trimester abortion procedure in the state in April 2019.[9] As of mid-May 2019, state law banned abortion after week 22.[9]

2020s developments

A 2021 Indiana law requires an ultrasound 18 hours or more before an abortion.[11]

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[5] However, in 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022).[12][13] Indiana passed a law known as "Senate Bill 1" (SB1), which went into effect on September 15, 2022 and banned abortions with exceptions for certain cases of rape, incest, risk to the life of the mother, or fatal fetal anomalies. However, on 22 September 2022, this law was blocked by Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon, thus effectively returning the status of legal abortions in Indiana to pre-SB1 conditions.[2]

Clinical history
Number of abortion clinics in Indiana by year
See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by eleven, going from 30 in 1982 to 19 in 1992.[14] In 2014, there were nine abortion clinics in the state.[15] In 2014, 95% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 66% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[16] In March 2016, there were 23 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state.[17] In 2017, there were 17 Planned Parenthood clinics, of which 4 offered abortion services, in a state with a population of 1,505,980 women aged 15–49.[18]

For comparison, in 2019, 36% of Indiana's counties had no birth center or hospital where women could give birth, and 17% had no hospital at all.[19]

Statistics

In 1990, 665,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[14] In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions.[20] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 720 abortions, 280 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 90 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 70 abortions for women of all other races.[21] In 2014, 51% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be illegal vs 43% that believed it should be legal in all or most cases.[22] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.[23]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[24]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
East North Central204,810185,800190,05020.718.919.3–7
Illinois68,42068,16069,39025.425.626.13
Indiana15,84014,03014,8501210.611.2–7
Michigan55,58049,37048,78025.222.622.3–11
Ohio49,52040,94042,87019.516.217–13
Wisconsin15,45013,30014,16013.611.612.3–9
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by
out-of-state residents		 YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Indiana9,7657.51168,1186.3976.12014[25]
Indiana9,5467.41147,9576.1955.92015[26]
Indiana 9,501 7.3 114 7,277 5.6 88 7.0 2016 [27]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Illegal and unsafe abortion deaths
See also: Unsafe abortion and Becky Bell

Indiana has officially recorded only one illegal abortion death, when, in 1988, a young woman by the name of Becky Bell died from an unsafe abortion rather than discuss her pregnancy and desire for an abortion with her parents.[28][29][30] After Bell discovered she was pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Indiana with her friend Heather Clark, seeking an abortion.[31] There she was told that the law required consent from her parents for the procedure and that most minors in her area simply went to Louisville, less than 100 miles away, to avoid parental disclosure.[32] She also had the option of going before a judge to argue for a waiver of parental consent, but reportedly feared that her parents would find out.[33] Bell was subsequently confused about what to do, according to Clark, alternating between plans to have an abortion in Kentucky, carrying to term and placing the baby for adoption, or running away to California.[32] On a Saturday night in September 1988, Bell left her house, telling her parents that she was going to a party.[32] She came home ill, disheveled, and in tears.[32] Her illness worsened over the next few days but she would not seek medical attention.[32] Her parents ultimately forced her to see their family physician who diagnosed severe pneumonia and had her hospitalized.[32] She died on September 16, 1988.[34]

Bell's autopsy revealed fetal matter and evidence of infection in her genital tract, but no evidence of internal injury or marks on the cervix.[32] The official cause of death was attributed to septic abortion complicated by pneumonia.[35] The county coroner and pathologist both later told the press that the abortion and infection were most likely caused by the use of unsterile instruments during an illegal abortion procedure.[32][33] After Bell's death, her parents found among Bell's possessions contact information for abortion clinics in nearby Kentucky, which did not have parental consent laws, but there was no record of her visiting a Kentucky clinic.[32] It remains unclear whether Bell obtained an induced abortion or induced the abortion herself.[32][36][37] Two years after her death, Clark, the friend who went to Planned Parenthood with Bell, told reporters that she did not believe that Bell had an induced abortion.[32]

Criminal prosecutions of abortion

Purvi Patel was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Indiana in March 2015 for allegedly attempting to induce an abortion using medications she had ordered over the Internet.[38] However, her conviction was overturned; if her conviction had not been overturned, she would have been the first woman in the United States to be charged, convicted, and sentenced on a feticide charge.[39]

Abortion rights views and activities

Protests

#StopTheBans was created in response to six states passing legislation in early 2019 that would almost completely outlaw abortion. Women wanted to protest this activity as other state legislatures started to consider similar bans as part of a move to try to overturn Roe v. Wade. At least one protest as part of #StopTheBans took place in the state.[40]

Anti-abortion views and activities
Disciple at the Pro-Life Music Festival, Winona Lake, Indiana 2006
Abortion protester plane at 2009 Notre Dame Commencement Ceremony

Violence

On April 11, 2013, Benjamin David Curell, 27, caused extensive damage to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bloomington, Indiana, vandalizing it with an axe.[41][42] Curell was convicted in state court of felony burglary, and pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. In the federal case, he was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay restitution.[43]

See also

Footnotes

    References
    1. Rodgers, Arleigh (August 6, 2022). "Indiana becomes 1st state to approve abortion ban post Roe". Associated Press.
    2. Rudavsky, Shari; Lange, Kaitlin (September 22, 2022). "Indiana judge temporarily blocks state's near-total abortion ban, one week after it took effect". The Tennessean.
    3. Messerly, Megan (October 12, 2022). "Indiana Supreme Court allows abortions to continue pending January hearing". Politico.
    4. Smith, Brandon (November 28, 2022). "A majority of Hoosiers support broad abortion rights, despite General Assembly's ban". Southern Indiana.
    5. Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
    6. Boesche, Madeleine. "19th Century Anti-Abortion Laws Enforcement in the Rural United States". History: Clark Fellowship. Vassar College.
    7. Times, The New York. "Abortion Restrictions in States". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    8. "State Policy On Informed Consent for Abortion" (PDF). Guttmacher Policy Review. Fall 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
    9. Tavernise, Sabrina (2019-05-15). "'The Time Is Now': States Are Rushing to Restrict Abortion, or to Protect It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    10. "TRAP Laws Gain Political Traction While Abortion Clinics—and the Women They Serve—Pay the Price". Guttmacher Institute. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
    11. "Law requiring ultrasound before abortion goes into effect Jan. 1". www.wthr.com. 31 December 2020.
    12. de Vogue, Arinne (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
    13. Howe, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
    14. Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
    15. Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
    16. businessinsider (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
    17. Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    18. "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
    19. "Counties With or Without Hospital or Inpatient Delivery Services Available - Counties With or Without Hospital or Inpatient Delivery Services Available". The Indiana Data Hub. Indiana State Government. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
    20. "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    21. "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
    22. "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
    23. "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    24. Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
    25. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
    26. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
    27. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMID 31774741.
    28. Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
    29. "Pacifica Radio". 2003-01-22. Archived from the original on 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
    30. Platner J (2006-09-15). "Remembering Becky Bell". Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
    31. Frolik, Joe (September 9, 1990). "Abortion debate shifting: Individuals become symbols in dispute." The Plain Dealer (Plain Dealer Publishing Co). p. 1-A, 14-A.
    32. Dettmer, Jamie (May 5, 1992). "Abortion's combat zone; Parents". The Times. London.(subscription required)
    33. "Becky's Story". 60 Minutes. CBS News. February 24, 1991.
    34. Brotman, Barbara (April 8, 1990). "Abortion Law Blamed In Death". Chicago Tribune. On Sept. 16, 1988, Becky Bell died of what the Marion County coroner ruled was infection following an abortion and of pneumonia.
    35. Abbot, Karen (October 29, 1998). "Foes of Notification Enlist Grim, Dirty Images". Rocky Mountain News. Denver. p. 11A.
    36. James, Rich (June 27, 1990). "New Ruling Rekindles Abortion Debate". Post-Tribune. Becky was a vivacious, blue-eyed, blonde when she died of an infection after self-aborting in September 1988.
    37. Brotman, Barbara (April 8, 1990). "Abortion Law Blamed In Death". Chicago Tribune.
    38. Larson, Jordan. "Timeline: The 200-Year Fight for Abortion Access". The Cut. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    39. NBC News (2015-03-31). "INDIANAPOLIS: First woman in US sentenced for killing a fetus - WNCN: News, Weather, Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville". WNCN. Archived from the original on 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
    40. Arnold, Amanda (2019-05-21). "How to Join the Nationwide Abortion-Ban Protest Today". The Cut. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
    41. Susan Guyett, Indiana man charged in ax attack on abortion clinic, Reuters (April 11, 2013).
    42. "Police: Man caused 'extensive damage' inside Planned Parenthood using ax". FOX59. 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
    43. Indiana Man Sentenced for Damaging Property and Equipment at Planned Parenthood (press release), United States Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs (July 1, 2014).
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