Indiana court blocks abortion limits in lawsuit claiming religious objections

(OSV News)—On March 5, an Indiana court blocked the state’s near-total abortion ban from being enforced against any Indiana resident who objects to the ban on religious grounds. The ruling came in response to a class-action lawsuit claiming the ban violated religious freedom protections.

In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 1, which prohibits most abortions in the state, violates Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an organization called Hoosier Jews for Choice, and five women who claimed they held sincere religious beliefs that they must be able to obtain an abortion under circumstances prohibited by the law, the ACLU of Indiana said at the time.

In a 17-page ruling, Marion County Judge Christina R. Klineman blocked the law from being enforced against the plaintiffs, as well as any Indiana resident who objects to the ban on religious grounds.

“The court finds that there is significant public interest in ensuring the religious freedom of all citizens and the state’s position that religious freedom is somehow less important than other exceptions in the abortion law puts the court in an untenable position and finds a permanent injunction the only proper relief,” Klineman wrote.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has appealed the ruling.

Rokita’s office, according to The Indianapolis Star, said in a statement, “As we have with every challenge against our pro-life law, we’ll continue fighting to protect the lives of the unborn.”

Stevie Pactor, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Indiana, argued in a March 5 statement that the ruling is “a recognition that religious freedom protects people of many faiths and beliefs, not just those favored by the state.

“For more than three years, our clients have challenged a law that forces them to choose between their faith and their autonomy,” Pactor said. “This decision makes it clear that Indiana cannot enforce its abortion ban in ways that violate their religious freedom.”

While some proponents of expanding abortion access have argued that religious freedom claims could be a legal avenue to circumvent or even block abortion bans, pro-life advocates criticized the litigation strategy.

Alexander Mingus, executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference, said in a March 7 statement, “Indiana’s religious freedom laws were passed for the purpose of protecting religious practice, not to protect the ending of a human life.

“Religions that preach violence are not protected by religious freedom claims,” Mingus said. “While the court’s decision is disappointing, the Catholic Church in Indiana remains committed to upholding the dignity of all life and concretely supporting women with difficult pregnancies.”

In a March 6 statement, Mike Fichter, Indiana Right to Life president and chief executive officer, argued, “For the court to rule that taking the life of an unborn child is an exercise of religious freedom is deeply distressing—and a perversion of the law’s intent.

“Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act was never intended to equate taking the life of an unborn child with religious expression in our state,” Fichter said, adding that the ruling “will be exploited so anyone claiming a spiritual belief, even if personal and non-theistic, can justify taking a child’s life.”

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., wrote on X that the ruling was “outrageous” and argued the judge should be impeached.

“Indiana’s abortion law serves the purpose of protecting unborn life and should be upheld,” he said.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which works to elect pro-life candidates to public office, argued on X, “We’re confident this absurd ruling will not stand.”

Indiana’s law permits abortion up to 10 weeks gestation only in instances of rape or incest and up to 20 weeks gestation only in cases of lethal fetal anomalies or when the mother’s life is in danger from specific medical issues. The law also requires that abortions take place at a hospital or a hospital-owned surgery center.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. †