Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the United States District Court, Southern District of Indiana, struck down state abortion rules Friday, reports The Journal Gazette.
The rules are part of the abortion law signed by then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence in March 2016. The law banned abortions based on knowledge the fetus has a disability, such as Down syndrome, as well as abortions based on sex, race, national origin or ancestry. However, the judge's ruling strikes down this provision.
"The anti-discrimination provisions of HEA 1337 [the law] clearly violate the first of these principles, in that they prevent women from obtaining abortions before fetal viability," the ruling said, according to the report. "The woman's right to choose to terminate a pregnancy pre-viability is categorical: A state may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability."
But Attorney General Curtis Hill told The Journal Gazette, "by declaring unconstitutional a state law that would bar abortions based solely on race, sex or disability such as Down syndrome, a federal judge has cleared the path for genetic discrimination that once seemed like science fiction. This state has a compelling interest in protecting the dignity of the unborn and in ensuring they are not selected for termination simply because they lack preferred physical characteristics."
The judge also struck down a provision in the law that mandated fetal tissue be buried or cremated, as human remains would be, according to the report. The ruling states a fetus is not recognized as a human being under the law, so "there can be no legitimate state interest in requiring an entity to treat an aborted fetus the same as a deceased human."
Mr. Hill plans to appeal Friday's ruling.
Read the full report here.
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