A second judge has blocked enforcement of Indiana’s abortion ban following a lawsuit from a religious organization and five people who say the law violates their religious beliefs.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Heather Welch on Friday issued a preliminary injunction against the state law prohibit abortion except in cases of rape or incest before the 10th week of pregnancy, to protect the life or physical health of the mother, or if the fetus presents a fatal anomaly.
Indiana became the first state to to pass a law banning abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The law went into effect on September 15, but another judge blocked him by an injunction a week later.
The Indiana Supreme Court should hear the arguments on that judge’s decision next month to determine whether the law violates the state constitution.
In the most recent injunction, Welch concluded that Jewish group Hoosier Jews for Choice and five anonymous plaintiffs were “substantially likely” to succeed on the substance of their case, according to decisionobtained by Indianapolis-based NBC affiliate WTHR.
The plaintiffs argue that their practice of religion has been significantly impaired by the abortion ban, in violation of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This law states that a government entity cannot significantly burden a person’s religious exercise unless the entity demonstrates that it serves a compelling government interest and is the least restrictive way to do so. .
Hoosier Jewish for Choice is made up of members who believe that Jewish law states that life does not begin at conception and that a fetus is considered part of a woman’s body until the moment of birth. Three of the anonymous complainants are Jewish, one is Muslim and one does not belong to any religious denomination but has “personal religious and spiritual beliefs”.
Welch’s ruling states that a fetus does not attain the status of a living person until after birth under Jewish law. It further states that Judaism recognizes certain situations in which abortion should be permitted.
Welch wrote that the procedure is required under Jewish law when the pregnancy could have serious consequences for a woman’s physical or mental health, even if there is no physical health risk likely to arise. cause substantial and irreversible impairments of a major bodily function.
She states that Islamic schools have different beliefs on the matter, but some Muslim scholars claim that a fetus does not possess a soul until 120 days after conception. She said Muslim scholars say getting an abortion for any reason within 40 days of conception is proper and proper.
Welch concluded that the plaintiffs could suffer irreparable harm if an injunction was not put in place. She said the ban significantly burdens their religious practice and is not the least restrictive measure to achieve a government interest.
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