Seventh Circuit Strikes Down Indiana Aid-Assist Law, Expands Free-Speech Protections for Abortion Info

On August 18, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a permanent injunction against Indiana's "aid-or-assist" law, which prohibited providers from helping minors locate out-of-state abortions or even discussing the procedure. The court held that the statute imposes a content-based restriction on speech and violates the Constitution, thereby guaranteeing minors the right to obtain abortion information without parental consent.

The decision arrives three years after Indiana enacted a near-total abortion ban, during which providers like Planned Parenthood continued to guide patients to clinics in neighboring states such as Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita had argued that any discussion with a minor violated the law, but the appellate panel rejected that claim. The ruling references the Supreme Court's recent Chiles v. Salazar decision, suggesting that similar First-Amendment reasoning may protect abortion-related speech nationwide and could deter other ban states from criminalizing out-of-state travel assistance. Opponents may seek review by the Supreme Court, but the judgment already offers a legal foothold for advocates in states like Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.