Indiana's abortion ban has really cut into the industry's business. And now, citing privacy concerns, health officials have stopped releasing individual patient reports on the few abortions that are done legally.
"We now know from the Indiana attorney general, who issued an opinion last week, who said they are not medical records, but they are actually designed to do exactly what they've been used to do -- and that is to help the public verify that the abortion law in Indiana is actually being followed," reports Mike Fichter of Indiana Right to Life.
Indiana law requires physicians to submit "terminated pregnancy reports" with demographic and medical history information to the health department. Patients are asked their zip code, age, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, previous pregnancies, the date of their last period, and the father's age, but they may refuse to answer questions.
So, Fichter says the patient privacy argument is an empty one.
"The terminated pregnancy report forms, which have been available for public review for decades, have always excluded or redacted any personally identifying information to a woman having the abortion," he details. "The name is not listed. The address is not listed. So many personally identifiable elements are redacted from the form."
Meanwhile, the information the forms provide are not just for public review; lawmakers use it to assess the need for new policies or legislation. Abortion proponents have accused lawmakers of weaponizing the reports, but Republicans maintain that the forms are necessary to enforce state law.
Earlier this month, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that individuals with a so-called religious objection to the abortion ban should be exempt from the law.
That decision had no immediate effect and may be challenged in the State Supreme Court, and AFN confirmed on Tuesday that Attorney General Todd Rokita's (R) office is "working on appealing this decision."
In the meantime, Fichter is asking people to pray.
"Pray for Indiana state policy leaders, including our attorney general that we know will use wisdom in how to navigate this entire suit," the pro-lifer suggests. "[Pray] for wisdom also for the justices who will be hearing this."
He asserts, "It is very important for not only for Hoosiers, but for people around the nation to understand what is going on" with this case.
"The Indiana Supreme Court (in a separate case) has already ruled that the state's new abortion law is constitutional, and they've ruled that the state has a compelling interest in protecting unborn life," Fichter reports. "The plaintiffs in this suit are not even claiming to be pregnant or wanting an abortion. They merely claim to believe life does not begin until a baby takes her first breath, for example. Some of the other plaintiffs don't even state that."
He warns that if this lawsuit succeeds, then Hoosiers can expect that any state law could be defied by someone claiming a so-called religious exemption to it. Under that type of reasoning, a Satanic cult could argue their so-called religion does not believe any life has value and that they should be able to engage in child sacrifice as a religious freedom.
"That is how critical this entire case is," says Fichter.
