INDIANA – Indiana abortions plummeted to low double-digits after a near-total ban went into effect over the summer, according to data from the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH).
Abortion clinics stopped providing the procedures on August 1, although the ban officially took hold on August 21. The law, which strips clinics of their licenses, includes several narrow exceptions: for the mother’s life or physical health, fatal fetal anomalies, and victims of rape or incest.
Only hospitals or hospital-owned surgical centers can perform abortions. Many hospitals are religiously affiliated and don’t offer abortions at all.
There were 355 terminated pregnancy reports in August, a 66% decrease from the 1,046 filings in August 2022, according to an IDOH annual report.
Under state law, a Hoosier healthcare provider must file a terminated pregnancy report within 30 days of performing an abortion, or within three days if the patient is under 16 years old. That means many of the August reports were for abortions that occurred in July.
The number of filings dropped further after providers filed their last pre-ban terminated pregnancy reports. IDOH received just 13 filings in September and 12 in October — decreases of 98% and 97% from the 737 and 447 reports filed during those months last year.
“While Terminated Pregnancy reports are not medically necessary, they do reveal what we know to be true: exemptions are a right in name only,” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana.
“This threat to our access to health care underscores the importance of Planned Parenthood and Women’s Med currently blocked from providing – safe spaces where patients can get accurate information to make informed choices, unbiased by ideology or fear of political consequences,” Gibron continued.
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