Justices sidestep abortion question on Indiana law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday sidestepped part of a case that could have tested the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, turning down an appeal to reinstate a strict Indiana abortion law. But the court, in an apparent compromise, upheld part of the same law regulating the disposal of fetal remains.
The first part of the law banned abortions sought solely because of fetal characteristics like sex or disability. The law’s second provision required abortion providers to bury or cremate fetal remains.
The court’s decision, issued without briefing on the merits or oral arguments, was unsigned and just three pages long. It stressed that its decision upholding the fetal-remains provision “does not implicate our cases applying the undue burden test to abortion regulations.”
Indiana, the court said, has a “legitimate interest in proper disposal of fetal remains,” quoting an earlier decision.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have denied review of both issues in the case.
The case, Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, No. 18-483, had been closely watched because it could have given the Supreme Court its first chance to consider the constitutionality of a state law restricting abortion since Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy last year.
Kennedy had been a cautious supporter of abortion rights, while Kavanaugh’s limited record on the subject as an appeals court judge suggested some skepticism.
The modest move Tuesday left for another day the consideration of state laws limiting abortion that were enacted, at least partly, to challenge the court’s decision in 1973 in Roe v. Wade.
The Indiana law was enacted in 2016 and signed by Gov. Mike Pence, now the vice president. It prohibited all abortions, at any time during a pregnancy, solely sought based on the fetus’s sex, or because it had been diagnosed with Down syndrome or another disability, or because of characteristics like race or national origin.
The state law also imposed limits on the disposal of fetal remains, though it allowed mass cremations and did not impose any restrictions on women who disposed of the remains themselves.
A statement issued by Pence’s office Tuesday said he “commends the Supreme Court for upholding a portion of Indiana law that safeguards the sanctity of human life by requiring that remains of aborted babies be treated with respect and dignity.” “We remain hopeful,” the statement said, “that at a later date the Supreme Court will review one of numerous state laws across the U.S. that bar abortion based on sex, race or disability.”
Also Tuesday, Planned Parenthood officials said Missouri’s only abortion clinic could be closed by the end of the week. The officials said in a teleconference that the current license for the St. Louis facility expires Friday. If not renewed, the organization said Missouri would become the first state without a functioning abortion clinic since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.
Missouri is among half a dozen states that have passed sweeping antiabortion measures. Republican Gov. Mike Parson signed a bill Friday banning abortions on or beyond the eighth week of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest.