Danielle Drake 8/21/26 Danielle Drake 8/21/26

Three Years After Indiana’s Abortion Ban Took Effect, Reproductive Freedom Remains Under Attack

Hoosiers face ongoing restrictions at home and renewed efforts nationwide to put abortion medication further out of reach

Three years ago today, Indiana’s near-total abortion ban took effect, cutting off abortion access for most Hoosiers and leaving patients and providers to navigate some of the most restrictive laws in the country. Since then, Hoosiers have been forced to travel hundreds of miles for care, doctors have made urgent medical decisions under the threat of criminal penalty, and patients facing serious pregnancy complications have been caught between the law and the care they and their doctors determine they need.

The attacks haven’t stopped at abortion. Indiana is still fighting to keep Medicaid patients from receiving basic preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers, even as those health centers remain barred from providing abortions in Indiana.

State officials keep searching for new ways to restrict medication abortion that is already out-of-reach for most Hoosiers. This session’s failed Senate Bill 236 would have created a bounty-style enforcement scheme targeting that care and anyone accused of providing it. In June, Attorney General Todd Rokita led the charge along with 13 other states in a failed attempt to get the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restrict mifepristone, citing unsupported claims that it threatens the water supply.

Earlier this year, a trial court permanently blocked Indiana from enforcing the abortion ban against Hoosiers whose sincerely held religious beliefs require abortion care in circumstances prohibited by the law. The ruling recognized that the ban can force people to violate their own faith. The state appealed, and the Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in that case on September 10.

That fight is unfolding alongside escalating threats to abortion access nationwide. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to mifepristone through the mail and pharmacies while litigation continues, but opponents are also once again urging the federal government to revive a 150-year-old law in an effort to block abortion medication, and potentially other supplies used in reproductive health care, from being sent through the mail.

With the recent confirmation of U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, federal threats to reproductive rights are more grave than ever, especially as he aims to make ‘the Dobbs decision permanent in every single state.’

For years, we’ve watched politicians deliberately chip away at our reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.
Our state constitutional challenge to the abortion ban ended in May, but in our separate religious freedom case, we won a permanent injunction protecting Hoosiers whose beliefs conflict with the ban. The state appealed that ruling, and on September 10, we’ll be at the Indiana Supreme Court defending it.
The state has already taken too much power away from people making extremely personal decisions about their lives. We’re going to keep fighting to get that power back where it belongs: with Hoosiers.
—
Danielle Drake, Advocacy Manager at ACLU of Indiana

Abortion bans impact every facet of care, not just abortion. We are three years into this medically unnecessary law and continue to see the way it creeps into the lives of Hoosiers: the pregnant person who doesn’t know where to turn, the provider whose hands are tied by politics, the delayed miscarriage care, the fear associated with what should be one of the most personal decisions a person ever makes – because being pregnant in Indiana is more dangerous than ever.
What the people targeting abortion providers and patients in Indiana don’t understand is that Hoosiers don’t scare easily. We take care of each other. Public support for abortion access is bigger than any ban, stronger than any court ruling, and we aren’t going anywhere.
—
Rebecca Gibron, CEO and President of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK)

Three years after Indiana's abortion ban took effect, Hoosiers are still facing the consequences of politicians stripping their ability to make personal decisions about their bodies, health, and futures. The Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition (IRHAC) and its member organizations are still fighting. Together, we will keep organizing, litigating, educating, and advocating to restore and expand reproductive health care access and autonomy Hoosier families want and deserve.

About the IRHAC

The Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition (IRHAC) is a statewide coalition of community organizers, advocates, health care providers, non-profit organizations, legal experts, and storytellers united to defend reproductive freedom and promote equitable access to health care for all Hoosiers.

Learn More

Danielle Drake 8/19/26 Danielle Drake 8/19/26

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Permanently Blocking Law Censoring Planned Parenthood’s Abortion-Related Speech

Court affirms First Amendment protections for information and referrals about legal abortion care outside Indiana

This press release was originally posted on August 19, 2026 on the ACLU of Indiana website.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2026

CHICAGO – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit yesterday upheld a ruling permanently blocking Indiana from punishing Planned Parenthood for giving minors truthful information about legal abortion services in other states or helping connect them with out-of-state providers.

The case stems from Indiana’s so-called “aid-or-assist” law, which made it illegal to knowingly or intentionally help an unemancipated minor obtain an abortion without first obtaining a parent’s written, notarized consent or getting court approval. Planned Parenthood Great Northwest Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) sued before the law took effect and won a preliminary injunction in 2017, blocking its enforcement.

In 2024, a federal district court permanently blocked Indiana from using the aid-or-assist law to punish Planned Parenthood for giving minors information about legal abortion services outside Indiana, providing referrals, or contacting out-of-state providers on their behalf. The State of Indiana appealed, and the Seventh Circuit affirmed that ruling, finding that the information and referrals are protected by the First Amendment.

“Young people should not have to navigate a complicated and deeply personal health care decision without clear, honest information,” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO and President of PPGNHAIK. “For years, Indiana has tried to make that harder. We’re relieved that we can continue helping all our patients understand their options and find legal care, even if it means traveling out of state. We will continue to fight for our patients’ right to access accurate information, including abortion services in other states.”

“Free speech protections mean very little if the government can silence truthful information whenever it dislikes the subject,” said Gavin Rose, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU of Indiana. “Indiana spent nearly a decade defending that kind of restriction. We’re glad the court rejected it and protected the right of providers to speak openly with their patients.”

PPGNHAIK is represented by attorneys from the ACLU of Indiana, the ACLU, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The decision is available here.

ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT NORTHWEST, HAWAI’I, ALASKA, INDIANA, KENTUCKY (PPGNHAIK)

PPGNHAIK is a leading sexual and reproductive health care provider and advocate. The organization operates health centers in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, and Western Washington and provides medical services and sexuality education for thousands of people each year. PPGNHAIK is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and relies heavily on charitable donations to ensure our patients' ability to determine their own destinies and receive the health care they need.

ABOUT THE ACLU OF INDIANA

The ACLU of Indiana is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights and civil liberties of all Hoosiers. Through litigation, advocacy, public education, and organizing, we work to defend the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. and Indiana constitutions.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Nicole Erwin, Strategic Communications Manager, PPGNHAIK, nicole.erwin@ppallianceadvocates.org

McKenzie Conrad, Senior Communications Specialist, ACLU of Indiana, media@aclu-in.org

Danielle Drake 6/12/26 Danielle Drake 6/12/26

Indiana Attempts to Restrict Access to Medication Abortion, Spreads Misinformation to Intimidate Patients and Providers

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — This week, 13 states, including Indiana, sent a letter calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to restrict access to medication abortion across the country. Their request falsely claims mifepristone is a threat to the water supply. In reality, mifepristone is a safe and effective way to end pregnancy, and there is no evidence that it threatens environmental safety. These efforts rely on misinformation rather than evidence, fostering an environment that intimidates patients seeking care and clinicians committed to providing safe, legal, and evidence-based health care.

The Indiana Reproductive Health & Access Coalition (RHAC) called out Attorney General Todd Rokita for recklessly misusing the EPA’s regulatory process to spread unfounded fears about mifepristone.

Haley Bougher, Indiana State Director, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates:

“This politically-motivated effort to restrict abortion access under the guise of water quality is flat-out fearmongering and reinforces the same brand of junk science anti-abortion politicians have been using for years. Attorney General Rokita and his anti-abortion cohort are politicizing unfounded environmental concerns to restrict access to medication that is safe, FDA-approved and has been used for more than two decades by millions of Americans. Dressing up anti-abortion sentiment as public health doesn't make it real science; it just makes the fear more marketable.

“It’s political acts like this that have caused a very real public health crisis that forces constituents to leave their home states to access necessary reproductive health care. If these Attorneys General truly cared about Americans, they would stop restricting access to reproductive health care, period. The people of Indiana — and all the other impacted states — deserve honest, evidence-based governance. This isn’t it.”

Danielle Drake, Advocacy Manager, ACLU of Indiana:

“The Attorney General is once again using the power of his office to spread fear and go after evidence-based health care. No one in Indiana should have to worry that politicians are looking over their shoulder when they make personal decisions about their health. Mifepristone is safe, effective, and FDA-approved. Trying to restrict it through baseless environmental claims is not about public health. It is about intimidation, control, and inserting the government into decisions that belong to people and their doctors.”

Mifepristone has helped ensure patients are able to make their own private medical decisions and has expanded access to evidence-based abortion and miscarriage care, access that remains under dire threat in this country.

This letter is just the latest attempt by anti-abortion extremists to pursue their ultimate goal of banning abortion in every form. This ploy to reverse-engineer a restriction on medication abortion by weaponizing environmental law is not only wrong — it’s dangerous.

###

About the Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition (IRHAC): IRHAC is a statewide coalition of community organizers, advocates, health care providers, legal experts, and storytellers united to defend reproductive freedom and promote equitable access to health care for all Hoosiers.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ALLIANCE ADVOCATES – INDIANA

Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC

MADVoters

American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana

The Indiana Section of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

Good Trouble Coalition

Indiana Task FORCE

Hoosier Jews for Choice

Women4Change Indiana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 12, 2026

CONTACT: Nicole Erwin, Strategic Communications Manager, Nicole.Erwin@ppallianceadvocates.org

Danielle Drake 3/6/26 Danielle Drake 3/6/26

Indiana Court Grants Permanent Injunction in ACLU of Indiana Religious Freedom Challenge to Abortion Ban

This press release was originally posted on March 5, 2026 on the ACLU of Indiana website.

INDIANAPOLIS – Today, the Marion County Superior Court granted a permanent injunction preventing Indiana from enforcing Senate Enrolled Act 1 (SEA 1), the state’s near-total abortion ban, against the plaintiffs and certified class when doing so would conflict with their sincerely held religious beliefs.

The Court agreed that Indiana’s abortion law imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). More than three years after the case was filed, the court's order makes permanent the protection that had remained in place while the litigation moved through the courts.

Because the court certified the case as a class action, today’s ruling reaches beyond the named plaintiffs and protects all Hoosiers whose religious beliefs direct them to obtain abortions that would otherwise be prohibited by the ban.

“Today’s ruling is a recognition that religious freedom protects people of many faiths and beliefs, not just those favored by the state,” said Stevie Pactor, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Indiana. “For more than three years, our clients have challenged a law that forces them to choose between their faith and their autonomy. This decision makes it clear that Indiana cannot enforce its abortion ban in ways that violate their religious freedom.”

A copy of the court’s order is available here.

Media Contact

McKenzie Conrad, Senior Communications Specialist, media@aclu-in.org

Danielle Drake 1/27/26 Danielle Drake 1/27/26

Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition Opposes SB 236

IRHAC opposes sb 236

Indianapolis, IN —The Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition (IRHAC) strongly opposes SB 236, a dangerous escalation of Indiana’s already extreme abortion ban. SB 236 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week despite hours of testimony reflecting widespread concern about the bill’s implementation and its impact on privacy, health care clinicians, and access to essential reproductive health care. Ignoring continued concerns, the full Senate voted to advance the bill again, 35-10, sending it to the House.

Even with cosmetic amendments, SB 236 remains a sweeping pregnancy policing scheme that further erodes access to reproductive health care in Indiana. Hoosiers should not be misled by these surface-level revisions. This bill is still profoundly harmful, and here’s why:

Creates a Texas-style “bounty hunter” legal environment that places a hefty price on Hoosiers’s private health care decisions. It allows private individuals to sue providers, pharmacists, manufacturers, or even friends and family members they believe are involved in medication abortion care, with the promise of financial rewards reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars. This structure invites surveillance, harassment, and unwanted legal exposure by strangers, unsupportive family members, and abusive partners.

Allows the Indiana Attorney General to sue on behalf of the fetus, expanding the legal definition of personhood. It empowers the Indiana Inspector General, a non-health care appointee of Governor Braun, to review individual abortion complication reports, granting access to deeply personal medical information with the goal to identify violations of the Indiana abortion ban for prosecution.This will have a chilling effect for those who provide care to pregnant people and will increase the risks of patient harm and death. Court cases brought under SB 236 would rely on sensitive medical records, pregnancy timelines, digital history, and private communications—dragging pregnant people and their physicians into court without their consent.

“This is pregnancy policing at its most extreme,” said Haley Bougher, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates “SB 236 replaces trust in medical care with fear, surveillance, and punishment. It will deter people from seeking care and force health care clinicians to practice under constant threat.”

By advancing illegitimate fetal personhood concepts, inserting contradicting abortion definitions, and intensifying civil liability tied to handling, shipping, and distributing medication abortion, SB 236 also creates a dangerous slippery slope that could threaten basic pregnancy care like contraception, IVF, miscarriage care, and medical privacy in the future.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to scare people away from accessing health care by deputizing and financially incentivizing private citizens to police their own communities. We see right through it. Hoosiers deserve better, and this bill will cause real harm to pregnant people and the people who care for them,” Danielle Drake, ACLU of Indiana. “We urge Indiana lawmakers to reject this bill and protect the dignity, safety, and health of Hoosiers.”

“Statewide polling has shown time and time again that an overwhelming number of Hoosiers do not want government meddling in their private health care decisions. This bill takes existing laws restricting reproductive freedom in this state and puts them on steroids,” Liane Hulka, Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC.

The Indiana Reproductive Health and Access Coalition will continue organizing, educating, and advocating against policies that criminalize pregnancy, undermine medical privacy, and restrict access to comprehensive reproductive health care.

Learn more at indianarepro.org

Liane Hulka, Executive Director, Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC

Haylee Sanford, Director of Engagement, Coburn Place

Linda Hanson, President, League of Women Voters of Indiana

Haley Bougher, Indiana State Director, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates

Cara Berg Raunick, co-chair, Hoosier Jews for Choice

Indiana Task FORCE

Angela Carr Klitzsch, CEO, Women4Change Indiana Action Fund

Danielle Drake, ACLU of Indiana

Media Contact

Nicole Erwin, Strategic Communications Manager, nicole.erwin@ppallianceadvocates.org