Indiana Supreme Court Hears Religious Freedom Challenge to Abortion Ban
The Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments on September 11 in Hoosier Jews for Choice v. State of Indiana, a case testing whether the state's 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act gives some women a religious exemption from Indiana's near total abortion ban. Attorney General Todd Rokita's office argued the case was brought too early, since the named plaintiffs are not currently pregnant or seeking an abortion. Chief Justice Loretta Rush pressed the state on why its interest in the ban should simply override the religious freedom claim, while Justice Geoffrey Slaughter asked the plaintiffs' attorney what principle would limit how far a religious exemption could reach.
A Marion County judge permanently barred the state from enforcing the abortion ban against the plaintiffs in March, and that injunction remains in place while the state's high court considers the appeal. The justices gave no indication of when they will rule. The case could shape whether other states with similar abortion bans and religious freedom laws face comparable challenges from within their own faith communities.
