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Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc., v. Commissioner, Indiana State Department of Health et al.

Location: Indiana
Status: Ongoing
Last Update: August 22, 2013

What's at Stake

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Indiana and Planned Parenthood Federation of America have challenged amendments to state laws that single out one health care center in Lafayette, Ind. for a host of unnecessary new regulations. The lawsuit, filed in federal court on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky against the Indiana State Department of Health and the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor, claims that these laws violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Senate Enrolled Act 371, passed in the 2013 legislative session, changed the definition of “abortion clinic” to include facilities that provide only the abortion pill Mifepristone to terminate a pregnancy. Mifepristone is a safe, non-surgical option used during the first nine weeks of pregnancy. Lawmakers also amended state law to require clinics that offer non-surgical abortions to meet the same physical requirements as clinics that provide the surgical procedure.

These new regulations will require the PPINK health care center in Lafayette to renovate its facility by Jan. 1, 2014 to meet surgical standards — including separate procedure, recovery and scrub rooms — even though no surgical procedures are performed there. The law affects only the Lafayette center, and does not apply to private physicians’ offices providing the same procedures.

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