ACLU of Indiana class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: The ACLU of Indiana filed a class action lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban.
- Why: The Indiana abortion ban allegedly violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
- Where: The ACLU of Indiana class action lawsuit was filed in Marion Superior Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana filed a class action lawsuit last week alleging the Indiana abortion ban violates the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The Indiana abortion ban, or the Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1), was signed into law on Aug. 5 and goes into effect on Sept. 15, the ACLU of Indiana class action lawsuit explains. This law makes virtually all abortions in the state unlawful, according to the complaint.
Only three exceptions to the Indiana abortion ban are allowed under SEA 1: to save a pregnant woman’s life, in the case of a “lethal fetal anomaly” and if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
The Indiana abortion ban prohibits physicians from performing an abortion solely because a fetus has been diagnosed with Down syndrome or any other disability. Physicians who violate SEA 1 face criminal penalties and may have their medical licenses revoked.
Indiana abortion ban violates women’s religious freedom, ACLU of Indiana class action says
The ACLU of Indiana says that SEA 1 violates Indiana’s RFRA, which prohibits government action that substantially burdens an individual’s exercise of religion unless there is a compelling governmental interest for the restriction and the action is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.
“Although some religions, and adherents of those religions, believe that human life begins at conception (however defined), this is not a theologibal opinion shared by all religions or all religious persons,” the Indiana abortion ban class action lawsuit says.
The ACLU of Indiana explains that the Indiana abortion ban violates the religious rights of Jewish and Muslim women and core beliefs held by Unitarian Universalists, Episcopalians, Pagans and a number of other religious and spiritual beliefs.
The ACLU of Indiana class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hoosier Jews for Choice and five women who hold sincere religious beliefs that they must be able to obtain an abortion under circumstances prohibited by the Indiana abortion ban.
The proposed class is defined as: “All persons in Indiana whose religious beliefs direct them to obtain abortions in situations prohibited by SEA 1 who need, or will need, to obtain an abortion and who are not, or will not be, able to obtain an abortion because of SEA 1.”
Abortion rights groups have filed several lawsuits in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other local attorneys general were recently hit with a class action lawsuit seeking an injunction to allow abortion rights groups to continue funding out-of-state abortions for Texas women.
What do you think about the argument that the Indiana abortion ban violates individuals’ religious freedom? Join the discussion in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Kenneth J. Falk, Stevie J. Pactor, and Gavin M. Rose of ACLU of Indiana.
The ACLU of Indiana class action lawsuit is Anonymous Plaintiffs 1-5, et al. v. The Individual Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, et al., Case No. 49D01-2209-PL-031056, in the Marion Superior Court, Marion County, Indiana.
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One thought on ACLU of Indiana class action claims abortion ban violates religious freedom act
I completely agree with the ACLUs argument.