(INDIANAPOLIS) - A Marion County court has issued a permanent injunction blocking Indiana from enforcing its near-total abortion ban against people whose religious beliefs conflict with the law.
The ruling from Marion County Superior Court prevents the state from enforcing Senate Enrolled Act 1 when it would violate religious protections under Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The court found the abortion law placed what it called a "substantial burden" on religious exercise.
Because the lawsuit was certified as a class action, the injunction applies statewide to Hoosiers whose religious beliefs support abortion access.
The case was filed in 2022 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of five anonymous women and the group Hoosier Jews for Choice. The lawsuit argued the abortion ban conflicted with sincerely held religious beliefs that permit or require abortion in certain situations.
Indiana's abortion law took effect in August 2023 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The law allows abortions only in limited cases, including to prevent death or serious health risks to the mother, in cases of rape or incest, or when a lethal fetal anomaly is diagnosed.
Attorney General Todd Rokita's office says the state disagrees with the ruling and has filed an appeal.