Court: 'Selective' Abortions Are Unconstitutional

For the second time in a week, a federal appeals court has struck down an abortion law as unconstitutional.

In the latest ruling, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said an Indiana law unlawfully banned "selective" abortions. The law specifically targeted fetuses based on gender, race, or disability.

In a separate case, an appeals panel voided an Ohio law that cut off funds to abortion clinics. If the decisions alone weren't enough to inflame one of the most controversial and political fires in America, the Indiana law was signed into law by then Gov. Mike Pence.

More Injunctions

In Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky Inc v. Commission of the Indiana State Department of Health, the Seventh Circuit upheld an injunction stopping Indiana from enforcing its ban. The appeals court also struck a requirement that abortion providers dispose of aborted fetuses in the same fashion as human remains.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued the injunction last year. It was a follow-up to her earlier ruling that Indian could not force providers to do ultrasounds at least 18 hours before an abortion and explain it to affected patients.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Circuit ruled in an ongoing battle over abortion in Ohio. In Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio v. Himes, the appeals court affirmed a permanent injunction against a state law that revoked funding that abortion providers had received to fight breast cancer, sexual violence, and other problems.

More Litigation

Kentucky is also in the midst of a battle over its abortion law.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued to undo a ban on "dilation and evacuation." Anti-abortion activists call the second-trimester surgery "dismemberment abortion."

Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have passed similar bans on the practice, but the courts have struck them down.

Realted Resources:

• Appeals Court Upholds Injunction on Federal Sanctuary City Restrictions (FindLaw's U.S. Seventh Circuit Blog)
• Data Breach Case Moves One Step Forward Against Barnes & Noble (FindLaw's U.S. Seventh Circuit Blog)
• United States Seventh Circuit Cases (FindLaw's Cases & Codes)