Indiana appeals ruling that extends religious freedom protections to abortions

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is appealing a March 5 ruling that allowed certain residents to obtain abortions under their religious freedom rights, providing a loophole in state laws that protect unborn life at nearly all stages.

Rokita, a Republican, announced the decision to take the case to the Indiana Court of Appeals on X March 9 and called Judge Christina Klineman’s decision an “assault on the sanctity of life itself.”

“Our office has appealed and will fight relentlessly in court to defend the most vulnerable: the unborn,” he posted. “Their lives matter. We will protect them at all costs!”

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Klineman found that the state’s pro-life law substantially burdens religious exercise rights under Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Indiana law currently permits abortion in cases of rape and incest, pregnancies that endanger the life or health of the mother, or situations where the unborn child has a “lethal fetal anomaly,” according to the ruling. Violations of the law carry criminal penalties and possible revocation of medical licenses.

The case in question was brought by several anonymous individuals and Hoosier Jews for Choice, and the plaintiffs believe that life does not begin at conception. According to the ruling, one Jewish plaintiff cites her religious beliefs that say life begins when a baby draws its first breath after birth. 

The ruling continues, “She also believes, according to Jewish law and teachings, that the health of a pregnant woman, both physical and mental, must take precedence over the potential for life embodied in a zygote, blastocyst, embryo, or fetus.”

Klineman’s ruling said that the case demonstrated one of “those rare instances where an abortion does not fall within the enumerated exceptions but is likewise a necessary religious exercise.”

She said that the law “would allow a plaintiff to seek an abortion if her pregnancy were the result of rape, but not if it were mandated by her religious beliefs.” Klineman also said that the state failed to “demonstrate a compelling governmental interest in enforcing the Abortion Law against sincere religious practice.”

Her decision made permanent a preexisting preliminary injunction that blocks the pro-life law, which she said also extends to others “who will in the future need religiously mandated abortions.”

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Stevie Pactor, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana, said that the ruling extends religious freedom protections to all, “not just those favored by the state.” The ACLU of Indiana represented the plaintiffs.

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

The Indiana Capital Chronicle also reported that Indiana Right to Life President and CEO Mike Fichter said he supports Rokita’s appeal, adding the ruling could plausibly be extended to give anyone an excuse for seeking an abortion.

“While this current injunction is limited to the plaintiffs in the case only,” he said, “if it withstands challenge, it will be exploited so anyone claiming a spiritual belief, even if personal and non-theistic, can justify taking a child’s life.”