Indiana Supreme Court weighs religious exemption challenge to state's near-total abortion ban
The Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the state's near-total abortion ban violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act after a lower court granted an injunction to plaintiffs claiming a religious right to abortions.
During oral arguments, the Indiana Supreme Court examined the state's appeal to lift an injunction that had been issued to two women and the advocacy group Hoosier Jews For Choice, who claim the state's near-total abortion prohibition breaches the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act. State Solicitor General James Barta argued that the law does not grant a constitutional right to religiously motivated abortions and that the plaintiffs have never been pregnant, making any alleged harm hypothetical.
The plaintiffs, led by ACLU of Indiana attorney Ken Falk, asserted that their deeply held religious convictions historically required abortions, and the current ban forces them to alter personal behavior to avoid pregnancies they cannot terminate. Chief Justice Loretta Rush questioned whether the case mirrors the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, while Justice Geoffrey Slaughter asked how the legislature could provide a religious exemption while preserving its compelling interest in protecting prenatal life.
Other justices hearing the case included Mark Massa, Christopher Goff and Derek Molter. No decision date was provided.
Why it matters
The case could define how religious freedom claims intersect with state abortion restrictions.
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