By: Cienna King and Mira Costello

Photographer & Staff-Writer; Editor-in-Chief

Recent changes in policies and government at the national and state level, including a new Indiana legislature, have left some wondering whether abortion laws have been affected. Let’s take a look.

What are Indiana’s abortion exceptions?

Indiana is considered a “total ban” state, which means abortion is illegal with a few exceptions. These exceptions include rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies and instances where the pregnant person’s life is at risk. In such cases, abortions can only be performed at hospitals, or surgical centers that are owned by a hospital, but not clinics. Some hospitals do not perform abortions in cases of rape or incest.

Abortions in cases of rape and incest are only legal up to 10 weeks post-fertilization or 12 weeks from the last menstrual cycle, whereas abortions needed due to medical issues are a case-by-case basis. Currently, you do not need documentation – like a police report, forensic evidence or an affidavit – to prove rape or incest occurred in order to obtain the abortion. However, Indiana Senate Bill 171 (currently in committee in the legislature) would require a person to provide the abortion provider with a signed “affidavit attesting to the rape or incest before the physician performs the abortion.”

If a patient is under the age of 18 and is pregnant as a result of being raped by a parent or guardian, parental consent is not required to receive the abortion. In cases of other perpetrators, parental consent is required for minors.

In the case of fatal fetal anomalies – where the unborn child would die before, during or within three months of birth – abortions are allowed up to 20 weeks post-fertilization or 22 weeks from the last menstrual cycle. 

While abortions for the life and health of the pregnant person are legal whenever necessary, anti-abortion groups have filed hundreds of complaints targeting providers in cases like this, which means some doctors may hesitate to perform abortions they deem medically necessary for fear of legal penalties. It is not completely clear under the law what kind of complications are included under the law’s phrase “serious health risk”.

There is an active Indiana court case that may lead to a religious belief exemption. Hoosier Jews for Choice has challenged Indiana’s current law, as Judaism traditionally does not prohibit abortion. 

Indiana requires every abortion patient to have an ultrasound and requires an 18-hour waiting period between requesting and receiving an abortion.

What about abortion pills?

The above information applies to procedural abortions and chemical abortions that occur in person, but the pills used for chemical abortion (mifepristone and misoprostol) can be obtained and taken at home. Is this legal?

Abortion pills are legal up to eight weeks post-fertilization or 10 weeks from the last menstruation. Indiana is the only state with a time limit on when abortion pills can be prescribed. 

In order to be legal in Indiana, the pills must be prescribed by an Indiana physician who the patient saw in person, they must be dispensed in person and the first dose must be taken under in-person supervision by the physician. Additionally, the abortion must still fall into one of the current exceptions. 

It is possible to obtain mifepristone and misoprostol through online volunteer networks or by having a telehealth visit with a doctor that practices in a state with a shield law – meaning their state has fewer restrictions and they can write a prescription for a patient living in a state with a ban. Getting pills by mail isn’t explicitly prohibited in Indiana, but using telehealth is. 

It is difficult to track mail and enforce the law for this type of abortion service.

What about contraceptives and Plan B?

Currently, there is no ban or restriction on Plan B (the “morning after pill” or emergency contraception), or any type of birth control.

What about traveling to another state?

As an Indiana resident, it is legal for you to travel to another state to have an abortion.

Illinois permits any abortion before 24-26 weeks of gestation, and they allow many kinds of medical professionals (not just physicians, as required under Indiana law) to perform an abortion. 

Ohio allows abortion up to 20 weeks after fertilization.

Can doctors or patients go to jail?

Those who perform an illegal abortion in Indiana face level five felony charges, which means that the medical professional could get one to six years in prison and be fined up to $10,000. They could also have their medical license revoked or suspended.

You cannot be criminally punished for having an abortion, even if the abortion was illegal under Indiana law.