Signage outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Merrillville, Indiana Friday June 24, 2022. The Supreme Court announced its decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier in the day. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune)
When Indiana’s near-total abortion ban goes into effect on Sept. 15, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Merrillville — and its 10 other facilities in Indiana — will remain open to provide “critical health care services outside of abortion,” but patients seeking abortion care will likely have to go out of state.
“We provide a whole range of critical health care services outside of abortion, including birth control, emergency contraception, gender affirming hormone care, wellness visits, and more. Our 11 health centers in Indiana will continue to provide those services, in addition to providing any care we can to those looking for an abortion,” said Nicole Erwin, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
Under the ban, abortions will only be allowed in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities, and to protect the life and health of the mother. Victims of rape and incest have up to 10 weeks to get an abortion. State Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, estimated that the bill would outlaw 98 % of abortions in the state.
Abortion clinic licenses will terminate when the law goes into effect, so abortion care will only be allowed at hospitals and ambulatory outpatient surgical centers that are owned by hospitals. Currently, only about 1% of abortion care is provided outside of an abortion clinic, Erwin said. Last year, only six hospitals in the state performed abortions of any kind, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Franciscan Health does not provide abortion care because it is “a Catholic health care system,” according to a statement provided by that healthcare system.
“We believe the gift of life is so valued that each person should be cared for with joy, respect, dignity, fairness, and compassion that he or she is consciously aware of being loved. We are grateful for the Supreme Court’s recent ruling because we always celebrate life and protect it at every stage,” the statement said.
Methodist Hospitals did not respond to requests for comment.
Alison Case, a family medicine doctor in South Bend who has been providing abortion care for the last two years, said if a patient of hers requests an abortion after Sept. 15 she will have to refer the patient out of state, like Illinois or Michigan. In Northwest Indiana, Case said, patients will likely be referred to Chicago.
If the patient meets the criteria of the new law, Case said she will have to refer the patient to a hospital.
“It makes me really sad. It makes me really angry. The whole point of becoming a doctor is that you’re trying to do something where you can help people, and now the state has said that I can’t do my job. I have to follow these guidelines that have absolutely no basis in medicine and put a person through a whole ordeal for no medical reason,” Case said.
After Sept. 15, if a patient comes to a Planned Parenthood in Indiana and requests an abortion, Erwin said the organization has invested in a patient navigator team to “help guide patients through the process of getting care out of state, connecting with abortion funds, and providing follow up care in Indiana." South Bend’s Whole Woman's Health clinic has started an Abortion Wayfinder Portal.
“We encourage patients to call us or visit any of our health centers to help them get the care they need,” Erwin said.
Even if a patient meets the criteria under the new law, it’ll be a challenge for them to get an abortion because abortion providers will no longer be licensed by the state and there will likely be fewer providers in the state because of the criminal penalties listed under law, Erwin said.
“Reducing the number of locations in the state where patients can access care in a life-threatening emergency — one of the few exceptions provided under this outright ban — will force patients to travel farther distances and potentially wait longer to get the care they need. These delays in care are particularly concerning given the gestational limits this bill imposes, such as the 10-week postfertilization ban for survivors of rape and incest,” Erwin said.
The abortion ban will have negative impacts on minority communities, people who live in rural areas, LGTBQ communities, people with disabilities and immigrants, Erwin said.
“These dangerous bans compound the challenges these communities already face in accessing health care. Indiana already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country,” Erwin said.
Case said she mainly provides medication abortions before 11 weeks of pregnancy.
As a primary care provider, Case said she made sure to learn and train in abortion care to “provide the full scope of reproductive care for patients.” Medication abortion is safe and effective, she said, though challenging to administer because of restrictive state and federal laws.
“It’s extremely rewarding to help people to get the care that they need. It’s super sad now that we’re not going to be able to help people get that care,” Case said.
The new law “is not unexpected” but still devastating — given that the testimony in favor of the bill “was unabashedly religiously driven."
“It feels very heavy for my patients,” Case said. “This is going to make practicing obstetrics very difficult. There’s going to be difficult decisions that shouldn’t be difficult."
Case, who works at an outpatient clinic, said once the new law goes into effect she won’t be able to provide abortion care anymore.
“(Patients) are going to have to find a hospital provider to give them this medication that is safe. There’s absolutely no reason you have to go to a hospital to get it,” Case said.
Under the new law, hospitals will have to start referring emergency abortion care to internal obstetricians, Case said, which will be a challenge for rural hospitals because many don’t have obstetricians.
“I can’t imagine that they’re going to feel ready to deal with this. I think what’s going to happen is people are all going to get referred to Indianapolis. The law is so restrictive that I also don’t think there’s going to be that many people who need to access abortion,” Case said. “There’s just going to be a lot of people who need to seek services outside of the state.”
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