{"id":227089,"date":"2020-07-11T13:22:31","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T18:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=227089"},"modified":"2020-07-11T01:34:24","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T06:34:24","slug":"federal-judge-strikes-indiana-reporting-abortion-complications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/federal-judge-strikes-indiana-reporting-abortion-complications\/","title":{"rendered":"Women at risk: Federal judge strikes down Indiana law requiring reporting of abortion complications"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A federal judge has overturned an Indiana law requiring any complications from abortions<\/a> to be reported to the state. U.S. District Judge Richard Young ruled Wednesday that the law is unconstitutional, two years after placing an injunction<\/a> against it, blocking it from taking effect.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed SEA 340<\/a> into law. According to Indiana Right to Life<\/a>, complications required to be reported included uterine perforation, cervical perforation, infection, hemorrhaging, respiratory arrest, shock, or botched abortions in which parts of an aborted baby are left inside the woman. It further required reporting if a woman was seeking an abortion due to abuse, coercion, harassment or trafficking.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0When abortion complications aren\u2019t properly tracked or reported, the industry can\u2019t claim it\u2019s safe<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The ACLU quickly filed a lawsuit<\/a> on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK). Judge Young agreed with them, saying the law was “constitutionally vague,” even though it explicitly listed<\/a> at least 26 known complications for reporting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe statute simply lacks any standard to guide physicians in determining whether a condition qualifies as an abortion complication for purposes of reporting,\u201d Young wrote in his decision<\/a>. \u201cThe indeterminacy of the statute\u2019s requirements denies fair notice to physicians and invites arbitrary enforcement by prosecutors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young did, however, uphold another provision that mandated annual inspections of abortion facilities, which he said could have caught abortionists like Ulrich Klopfer earlier. Klopfer had his medical license revoked in 2015, and after his death earlier last year, the bodies of thousands of aborted babies<\/a> were found in his home and car.<\/p>\n