Federal District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt

A federal judge has blocked an Indiana law signed by Mike Pence in 2016 when he was still governor to force women to obtain an ultrasound at least 18 hours before getting an abortion. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, the first African American ever appointed to the federal court in Indiana, ruled in the case that the state made no compelling argument that requiring an ultrasound “makes it any more likely that a woman will choose not to have an abortion.”

As in many cases where new restrictions are placed on abortion, the defenders of this law claim it protects women’s health. Foes argue that this is bunk and that this law, like others, places an “undue burden” on women seeking to terminate their pregnancies. That’s language from the Supreme Court ruling in (Pennsylvania) Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and elaborated upon in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016).

The case was filed by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. The women’s health organization has six clinics in Indiana. Like many forced-birther laws, this one engages in class warfare. One of Planned Parenthood’s complaints is that the law would make it harder on low-income women, many of whom would have to travel 100 or more miles from home, and either make the trip twice or stay overnight in the city where they have an appointment to obtain an abortion. Carter Sherman reports: