Judge: ‘Wishful thinking’ that appeals court will reinstate Indiana abortion restrictions

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal judge Thursday rejected a state request to put her ruling overturning several Indiana abortion restrictions on hold.

Attorney General Todd Rokita had asked Judge Sarah Evans Barker to allow the restrictions to remain in place while the state appeals the ruling.

Barker ruled earlier this month that several of the state’s abortion restrictions are unconstitutional, including a ban on telemedicine, a requirement for in-person counseling, and mandatory disclosures on fetal pain and the mental health risks of abortion.

Barker said the state’s arguments that a federal appeals court will overturn the ruling “reflect no small amount of wishful thinking.”

Barker’s ruling upheld several other parts of Indiana abortion law, including the parental consent law and the mandatory 18-hour waiting period before getting an abortion.