(WPTA) – Wednesday marks one year since the Hoosier State’s near-total abortion ban went into effect after months of appeals and lawsuits by the ACLU of Indiana.

On August 21, 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court denied the ACLU’s request to reopen the state’s abortion ban, allowing the law to finally go into effect. The law was put on hold after its passage in 2022 as preliminary injunctions were sought in the case.

The almost complete ban on abortion provides for limited exceptions in cases of sexual assault, incest, to protect the health of the mother or in the case of a fatal fetal abnormality.

Haley Bougher, state director of Planned Parenthood, says that as the 2024 election approaches, the majority of Indiana residents view abortion as a key issue.

A recent poll conducted by Our Choice Coalition, a nonpartisan political action committee, found the following results:

• 78% want direct access to voting through an initiative or referendum on the state’s abortion policy
• 70% of Indiana residents are less likely to support incumbents who voted for the 2022 abortion ban
• 72% are less likely to support those who blocked a referendum on the state’s abortion policy
• 58 percent say abortion will be a central issue in their election this fall

“We are fighting for everyone’s right to decide when to become parents and to control their bodies and their future. That’s why we as organizations and Indiana residents across the state are reminding our legislators that this is a reproductive health choice and that we will take this to the ballot box in November,” Bougher says.

According to Bougher, in the months since the abortion ban went into effect, the number of patients traveling across state lines for an abortion has doubled – from 1 in 10 to 1 in 5.

Bougher says that in our neighboring state of Illinois, more than 90 percent of abortion patients treated at Planned Parenthood’s Carbondale clinic traveled across state lines to receive care.

Because Planned Parenthood centers in Indiana cannot provide such services, Bougher said they have expanded their offerings to include more preventative services such as vasectomies.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the number of vasectomies at Planned Parenthood health centers has increased by 34 percent.

For those who still need abortion services, Planned Parenthood has patient navigators who help residents get the medical care they need.

Representatives of the organization Indiana Right to Life believe that despite the abortion ban being in effect for a year, there is still much work to be done.

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