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July 2, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Federal judges in Alabama and Indiana moved Wednesday to stifle two pieces of significant pro-life legislation.
In Alabama, provisions implemented to protect unborn babies from abortions obtained by teen mothers without parental consent were deemed “unconstitutional.” Meanwhile, an Indiana judge blocked a law requiring abortion facilities to inform women about abortion pill reversal procedures while a Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging the law progresses through the courts.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Alabama upheld a 2017 federal ruling that struck down pro-life provisions added to the Alabama Parental Consent Act in 2014. Like similar legislation in many other states, the Alabama law bars minor girls from obtaining an abortion without parental consent. However, a judicial bypass provision in the law allows minors from abusive homes to request a judge’s permission instead.
According to National Right to Life, the judicial bypass loophole is often manipulated by abortion providers who “(get) their own attorneys appointed by the court to shepherd pregnant minors through the intimidating judicial system” and provide easy access to abortion.
To deal with the problem, Alabama lawmakers toughened the law, requiring girls seeking a judicial bypass to appear in a trial-like court with lawyers and potentially their parents. Their amendments also allowed the court to appoint a lawyer to represent the interests of the unborn child.
The 2014 amendments were scuppered when the Reproductive Health Services abortion facility in Montgomery County filed a lawsuit.
On Wednesday, the appeals court upheld the 2017 decision, saying the pro-life amendments were “unconstitutional” and placed an “undue burden” on pregnant minors seeking abortions.
In a statement to Newsweek, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he “strongly disagree(s)” with the court’s decision, adding that the “State of Alabama intends to seek review of this decision by the entire Eleventh Circuit and, if necessary, by the Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile, in Indiana, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon blocked a pro-life law that would have forced abortion facilities to inform women about the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) procedure, which stops the lethal abortion drug Mifepristone from ending the life of an unborn baby, according to Indiana Right to Life. It is credited with saving more than 2,000 babies thus far.
Signed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb in April, the life-saving law was halted Wednesday through a temporary injunction issued by Judge Hanlon less than 24 hours before it was to go into effect.
While the implementation of the law is stalled, a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood against the state is currently progressing through the courts.
The Indiana attorney general’s office said of the injunction, “Denying patients information regarding alternatives should they wish to continue their pregnancies harms women by depriving them of that choice.”
“Patients have the right to choose not to take the second pill and pursue alternative options to save their pregnancies,” the attorney general’s office said.