The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that Indiana may continue enforcing portions of its state law while the court considers a full appeal of the case.
In August, federal judge Sarah Evans Barker blocked the law but Indiana appealed to the 7th Circuit, which granted the stay pending appeal.
"It's about time that the court system started to recognize that unborn children need to be protected and their mothers need to be protected," Carol Tobias, speaking on behalf of National Right to Life, tells American Family News. "Telemedicine abortions or web cam abortions are not safe. So this is a smart move by the court."
Portions of the law that will remain in effect include a physician-only requirement for chemical abortions; hospital or surgical center requirements for second-trimester abortions; an in-person counseling requirement form for women considering abortion; and what is considered a ban on using telemedicine for abortions.
Abortion supporters insist telemedicine abortions are safe and less invasive than surgical abortions but Tobias says a chemical abortion is actually more dangerous. Indiana’s state leaders banned telemed abortions, she advises, because it is safer to meet face-to-face with a physician before undergoing a chemical abortion.
"You have more chances of infection, of hemorrhaging,” she says of the chemical abortion, “and you might have a portion of the baby, or the [entire] baby, still in the uterus.”
