Kristine Guerra

kristine.guerra@indystar.com

A federal judge has ruled that part of an Indiana law regulating abortion clinics is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson in a ruling Wednesday said that the law is irrational and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. She said the law regulates an abortion clinic that provides an abortion pill differently from a physician’s office that also prescribes the same pill.

The law, approved by the General Assembly in 2013, expanded the definition of an abortion clinic to include any facility that prescribes the pill. It requires abortion clinics, including those that offer only the nonsurgical pill, to meet certain physical requirements, such as providing procedure, recovery and scrub rooms.

But the law excepts physician’s offices that offer the same pill from having to meet those requirements.

In her 41-page decision, Magnus-Stinson called the distinction “meaningless.” She said the “ambiguity in the statute leads to arbitrary distinctions and unequal regulatory treatment with no rational basis.”

Abortion-rights supporters say the regulation is meant to shut down a Planned Parenthood facility in Lafayette, the only one in Indiana that prescribes the pill mifepristone to terminate pregnancy but does not perform surgical abortions.

The lawsuit, filed last year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky against the Indiana State Department of Health and the Tippecanoe County prosecutor, alleges that Senate Enrolled Act 371 is unconstitutional and places an unreasonable burden on one facility.

Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, said that Magnus-Stinson’s decision means that the Lafayette clinic will not have to follow physical standards required of a facility that performs surgical abortion procedures.

“The Constitution does not allow unequal treatment of similar persons and entities without a rational basis, and here the statutes were clearly irrational,” Falk said in a statement.

The attorney general’s office, which represents the state, released a statement saying that the agency is reviewing the judge’s decision. The statement said no appeal can be filed because Magnus-Stinson has not issued a final judgment and more court proceedings are likely.

“We respect the court’s ruling and also respect the authority of the people’s elected representatives in the Legislature to make policy regarding physical plant requirements for nonsurgical abortion clinics,” Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in the statement. “... We will consult with our clients on additional legal proceedings in the defense of this Indiana statute and explore other options.”

The judge in November 2013 issued a preliminary injunction, stopping the law from going into effect on Jan. 1. She later set a June 1, 2015, trial date.

Both sides argued their cases in federal court last month.

Falk said during the hearing that the regulation would result in unnecessary costs to equip rooms that would not be used. Planned Parenthood also said in court documents that the abortion pill is only a minuscule portion of the Lafayette clinic’s prescription practices. For the year ending July 1, 2013, 54 women were prescribed mifepristone. Other medications, mostly contraceptives, were prescribed more than 10,000 times during the same time period.

The state defended treating the two entities differently because abortion procedures either do not or rarely occur at physician’s clinics. Solicitor General Thomas Fisher also said the law does not call for “overwhelming reconstruction efforts” and only requires “marginal changes,” such as adding a sink.

Planned Parenthood hailed the judge’s decision as a women’s rights victory.

“Countless medical professionals are on the record that such laws do nothing to protect a woman’s health and safety, and we are thankful the court recognized the irrational basis of this law,” Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky President and Chief Executive Officer Betty Cockrum said in a statement.

Pro-life advocates said the decision was disappointing.

“Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that a judge appointed by the most pro-abortion president in the history, Barack Obama, would rule in Planned Parenthood’s favor,” Mike Fichter, president and chief executive officer of Indiana Right to Life, said in a statement.

The court denied other claims by Planned Parenthood and requested that a status conference be held to determine whether the scheduled June trial is still necessary.

Star breaking news editor Eric Dick and reporter Tim Evans contributed to this report.

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.