INDIANAPOLIS – Amid an ongoing legal battle over abortion-related records, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) has clarified its legal representation.
At issue is a lawsuit filed last month by the anti-abortion group “Voices for Life,” which seeks to regain access to Terminated Pregnancy Reports (TPRs) that are no longer being released by the state health department.
Court records show that IDOH and Dr. Lindsay Weaver, the state health commissioner, are represented by Indianapolis-based Lewis and Wilkins LLP. Three attorneys with the firm filed their appearance on behalf of the defendants on May 31.
IDOH originally asked for different outside counsel. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita declined the request. But rather than handling the case with in-house state attorneys, Rokita chose Lewis and Wilkins, already under contract with his office, to represent the state agency.
“We did not give them permission to hire their counsel at all — in fact, our office assigned Wilkins to represent our client, IDOH, on behalf of the Attorney General’s office, as we often do,” said Ben Fearnow, a spokesperson from the attorney general’s office, in a statement to the Capital Chronicle.
Before publication, IDOH officials did not respond to numerous requests for comment from the Capital Chronicle starting last week.
Read the complete Casey Smith article for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
