Federal judge strikes down Indiana’s ‘feeble’ attempts to restrict abortion

A federal judge struck down multiple abortion restrictions in Indiana, finding that the state had only offered “feeble” explanations for the policies, which offered no clear health benefit to women.

On Tuesday, US District Court judge Sarah Evans Barker issued a permanent injunction covering multiple state laws: a ban on using telemedicine for medication-induced abortions, a prohibition on second-trimester abortions outside hospitals, and rules requiring women to be told life begins when an egg is fertilized and a fetuses might feel pain at or before 20 weeks.

“The State’s attempt to explain its basis for excluding the far-reaching benefits of telemedicine from this category of patients is feeble at best, especially given the widespread use of telemedicine throughout Indiana as well as the overall safety of medication abortions,” Ms Barker wrote in her ruling.