Hospitals and abortion clinics in Indiana are preparing for a ban on access to these services to go into effect on September 15, effectively closing abortion clinics across the state.
As of that date, abortion clinics will be prohibited from providing any type of abortion care, leaving these services solely in the hands of hospitals or hospital-owned ambulatory surgical centers.
The Indiana Legislature was the first in the country to pass new restrictions on abortion after the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade, and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb quickly signed the ban into law on August 5.
“My last shift as a companion at the clinic is coming up,” Sarah Knowlton said Wednesday. “And I’m not ready for that.”
At Indiana University Health, which is the largest hospital system in the state, providers have been training to continue offering abortion services in permitted circumstances.
Under the new law, abortions will be allowed only in cases of rape and incest before 10 weeks after fertilization; protect the life and physical health of the patient; or if a fetus is diagnosed with a fatal abnormality.
A doctor who performs an illegal abortion or fails to file the required reports risks losing his or her medical license.
Last year, most abortions in Indiana were performed at abortion clinics. Hospitals performed just 133 of the state’s 8,414 abortions, according to a 2021 annual report from the state Department of Health, while the remaining 8,281 were performed at abortion clinics.
Clinics in Indiana that will not be able to provide abortion services on September 15 include Whole Woman’s Health in South Bend, Women’s Med in Indianapolis and Clinic for Women in Indianapolis.
The four Planned Parenthood clinics that provide abortion services in Indiana will no longer do so, but will continue to see patients for other medical services, such as testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and cancer screenings, explained Rebecca Gibron, director executive of the Planned Parenthood division that includes Indiana.
“Planned Parenthood has been a leading provider of reproductive health care in Indiana since 1932. And we’re not going anywhere,” Gibron told the AP in August.
Sharon Lau, North Central advocacy director for Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, said that while the South Bend clinic will stop providing abortion services, patients can still access a program that will direct them to appointments. of abortion in other states.