Indiana’s 18-hour abortion ultrasound law is back in effect

An Indiana law requiring an ultrasound for women who plan to undergo an abortion went into effect on New Year’s Day four years after it was initially signed into law. The law requires women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound 18 hours before the abortion is carried out, however she can decline in writing to view the ultrasound image or hear the heartbeat. The law allows her 18 hours to reconsider this life-altering decision.

Ultrasounds are often used during abortions to date the pregnancy in order for the abortionist to determine which procedure to use to kill the preborn child and how much to charge the mother. Ultrasounds are a window into the womb and a woman deserves the opportunity to see her child and hear her child’s heartbeat before making her final decision on abortion.

Signed into law in 2016 by then-Governor Mike Pence, Planned Parenthood sued to stop the Indiana law from taking effect, claiming that it would place an undue burden on women. In 2017, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued a preliminary injunction to block the law. An appeals court upheld that decision. Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill filed an appeal and on July 2, the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the federal appeals court to be re-heard.

READ: Abortion staff lied about fetal development, refused to show woman her baby’s ultrasound

As Live Action News reported at the time, “The new Supreme Court ruling told the 7th Court of Appeals to reconsider both [of Indiana’s abortion] laws, and to keep in mind that recent ruling in Louisiana, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state’s admitting privileges law is unconstitutional.” This meant the state of Indiana would have been able to defend the law in court again. Hill noted that “Planned Parenthood saw the likelihood that this very reasonable law ultimately would be upheld.”

Then in August, Planned Parenthood and the state of Indiana came to an agreement that the preliminary injunction would be vacated on January 1. The abortion corporation dropped the lawsuit, stating that in the years since the law had been signed, certain “events” had taken place, including the addition of an ultrasound machine at the Planned Parenthood in Fort Wayne. Apparently the facility did not have a functioning ultrasound machine until that time — a stunning piece of information.

“For women considering abortions, ultrasounds are an important part of the informed-consent counseling,” Hill said. “Anyone interested in protecting women’s health, including their mental health, should support giving them as much information as possible to aid their decision-making.”

Women who undergo abortions are at an increased risk of depression, alcohol use, drug use, and suicidal thoughts. Ensuring women are fully informed about abortion before undergoing one is essential. Ultrasound laws allow women the opportunity to be fully informed about the fact that abortion takes a human life, to step away from any pressure they may be feeling to abort, to reconsider their decision, to further research other options, and to seek out assistance.

Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses fight pro-life laws because those laws help to reduce the number of abortions — directly affecting the financial bottom line of the abortion industry.

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