INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge said he’ll soon decide whether to block a new Indiana law that would require doctors to tell women undergoing drug-induced abortions about a disputed treatment for potentially stopping the abortion process.
U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon in Indianapolis heard arguments Monday in a lawsuit filed by abortion rights groups seeking to stop the so-called “abortion reversal” law from taking effect as scheduled July 1.
The state’s witnesses in court maintained the law would ensure that a woman has information about halting a medication-induced abortion if she changes her mind after taking the first of the two drugs used in the procedure and takes a different drug instead.
Dr. George Delgado, who claims to have coined the term “abortion reversal,” testified that the treatment is safe and effective. He cited “50 to 75 successful reversals” he’s overseen directly.
Dr. Courtney Schreiber, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Philadelphia, pushed back, calling the state’s new law “deeply distressing” and “mortifyingly harmful.” She denounced Delgado’s assertions, noting there is “no evidence” that an abortion can be reversed and that a woman might have an increased risk of hemorrhaging if she does not take the second dose of medication for an abortion.
Hanlon said his initial ruling will be made “as soon as possible” and is expected before the law takes effect.
