Planned Parenthood of Indiana is merging with Planned Parenthood of Kentucky in a move the healthcare organization says will strengthen the services offered in both states.
The U-S Supreme Court is declining to review a lower court decision that prevents the state of Indiana from cutting Planned Parenthood out of its Medicaid program.
Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill in 2011 that prevented Medicaid recipients from being reimbursed for health services at Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics offer abortions.
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law in court.
Governor Mike Pence signed an abortion drug regulation measure he says will protect women’s health. However, Planned Parenthood of Indiana says it will likely challenge the law in court.
The signed legislation would require Indiana abortion clinics that only dispense the abortion inducing drug known as RU-486 to adhere to the same physical standards as surgical abortion clinics. That includes bigger door and room sizes and surgical equipment requirements. Only one Indiana facility will be affected – a Planned Parenthood clinic in Lafayette.
A bill regulating abortion-inducing drugs administered at Indiana abortion clinics will advance to the House floor after passage in committee Wednesday.
When the bill passed the Senate, it required women receiving the abortion-inducing drug known as RU-486 to undergo an ultrasound prior to taking the drug. Changes in the House committee would require the ultrasound to be offered but allow women to turn it down.
The Indiana Senate approved a measure that makes changes to the way drug-induced abortions are administered.
The vote of 33-to-16 also would require the Planned Parenthood facility in Lafayette to meet abortion clinic requirements. The local center does not offer surgical abortions. A Planned Parenthood spokesperson says that center is in full compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to non-surgical abortion.
Proposed legislation that passed a Senate committee Wednesday places stricter regulation on the dispensing of the abortion-inducing drug known as RU-486 and the clinics that provide it. Those clinics would be required to have the same facilities as a surgical abortion center, including access to anesthesia, surgical equipment and specific door and room sizes. Any physicians or facilities that do not typically dispense RU-486 would be exempt.
Senator Vaneta Becker (R-Evansville) says the bill will make it harder for women to safely access abortion-inducing drugs.
