A federal judge Tuesday put a permanent halt to Indiana’s abortion law defunding Planned Parenthood. The decision ends a two-year legal battle between the state and its largest abortion provider.
Federal judge Tanya Walton Pratt first issued a preliminary injunction in 2011 against an Indiana law that cut off federal funding to abortion providers in the state – effectively meaning Planned Parenthood. Pratt’s ruling, which temporarily halted the law’s effects, has since been upheld by a federal appeals court.
Tuesday the judge issued a permanent injunction, ending the lengthy legal battle. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky President Betty Cockrum says, although her agency continuously won victories in the case, the ultimate decision still comes as a relief.
“Hopefully it also serves as a statement that Planned Parenthood is in an important place as a healthcare provider in the state of Indiana and one hopes that the legislature will figure out it maybe has more important things to do when it comes back in 2014,” Cockrum said.
In a statement, Attorney General Greg Zoeller says it was important and necessary to defend the legislature’s policy decision. And he says Indiana could have a chance to weigh in on the issue if legal challenges to similar statutes in other states come before the U.S. Supreme Court.
