Judge refuses to temporarily block Indiana abortion law

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INDIANAPOLIS | Wed May 11, 2011 5:55pm EDT

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - A District Court Judge on Wednesday denied Planned Parenthood of Indiana's request to block enforcement of a new state law cutting government funds to the family planning organization.

The judge, Tanya Walton Pratt, said PPIN and the Civil Liberties Union of Indiana had not convinced her they would suffer "immediate and irreparable harm" if the law took effect.

Pratt said her ruling dealt only with the restraining order request made yesterday. A hearing on PPIN's request for a preliminary injunction is still scheduled for June 6 and the judge said a ruling should be expected by July 1.

Republican Governor Mitch Daniels signed the bill restricting abortions and taking funds from Planned Parenthood, which among other services provides abortions, on Tuesday, and the law went into effect immediately.

Betty Cockrum, PPIN's president and CEO, expressed disappointment with the ruling. She said it would mean "that Hoosiers who rely on federal funding have lost access to their crucial and lifesaving preventive health care at Planned Parenthood of Indiana."

But Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher said he was satisfied with Pratt's ruling.

"I am pleased the state law gets to go into effect as the legislature intended," he said.

(Reporting by Susan Guyett; Editing by James B. Kelleher)
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Comments (1)
emmyarrives wrote:
Thank’s Mitch for eveything you’ve done for Indiana. you’re a real advocate for young woman, teachers, and people that are on medicaid and foodstamps. Is the Indiana Solicitor General going to help you with the 1.37 billion dollar contract lawsuit against the state of Indiana? I suppose not. It’s not against you. I see that you’re not even testifying for now. Privitizing welfare didn’t work so good huh? I suppose it won’t won’t come out of your poctket either. It’s not even making the news. How convenient. President Daniels…HAHAHAHA.

May 11, 2011 7:21pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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