INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to grant Indiana’s request to reinstate a 2017 pro-life law requiring parental consent for minors’ abortions.
On July 18, Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order enforcing the law, overruling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit which had insisted on waiting for the official judgment overturning Roe, as reported by NBC News.
Lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that, “delay would only serve to prevent enforcement of a duly enacted state statute designed to protect minors, families, and the unborn.”
The law was passed in 2017 but blocked by lower courts, which claimed it contradicted Roe v. Wade. When the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 abortion law this past June, Indiana asked for the stay to be lifted.
However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit argued that it needed to receive formal notice of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which was not expected to be published before July 25.
As a result of Roberts’ ruling, abortion providers must now notify a parent or guardian if a girl under 18-years-old is seeking an abortion. Also, the law will notify and involve parents if their daughter appears in court to seek an abortion without parental consent.
“We eagerly anticipate clearer paths for Indiana’s commonsense laws protecting unborn children and their mothers,” said Todd Rokita, the state’s attorney general.
Many U.S. states have severely restricted or outlawed abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, largely owing to “trigger laws” set up in anticipation of the historic decision.
Approximately ten states have totally banned abortions while many others have drastically limited access to abortion as more states follow suit. As LifeSiteNews reported, clinics have ceased abortions in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Abortions initially stopped in Kentucky, Utah, and Louisiana but have resumed due to recent court orders.
Meanwhile, pro-life pregnancy centers and Catholic churches have faced violence, vandalism and even arson in the wake of the pro-life ruling. The violence appears to have no clear end in sight, with the Department of Homeland Security predicting that terrorist attacks could continue “for weeks” after the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade.