May 5, 2023

Supreme Court dismisses suit against Indiana law requiring burial or cremation of aborted babies

By Natalie Hoefer

News broke on May 1 that the United States Supreme Court chose not to hear a case against Indiana’s 2016 law requiring the burial or cremation of aborted babies, thus leaving the mandate in place after seven years of legal battles.

“Every baby killed from abortion in Indiana should receive the dignity of burial or cremation,” said Indiana Right to Life president and CEO Mike Fichter in a statement issued following the May 1 announcement.

“Before this law was passed, aborted babies were treated as common medical waste, dumped into landfills, and even flushed into sewer systems,” Fichter continued. “Their lives should never have been taken from them in the first place, and until abortion ends in our state, we must at least give these babies their final dignity.”

Shortly after the law was signed in March of 2016, Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit declaring the requirement of proper burial or cremation of aborted babies, along with other provisions of the law, to be unconstitutional, according to a May 28, 2019, article at nbcnews.com. The case made its way through the courts, finally coming before the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the provision in a May 28, 2019, decision.

A second lawsuit was filed against the provision in 2020 on the grounds that it violated First Amendment religious rights, according to a Dec. 2, 2022, article at indystar.com. Court decisions and appeals again brought the suit to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices gave no reason for their May 1 decision against hearing the case, according to an Associated Press article published that same day.

“We are hopeful today’s Supreme Court ruling is the end of the road for stonewalling challenges from Indiana abortion businesses,” Fichter said.

“We call on the Indiana Department of Health to confirm through inspections that all licensed Indiana abortion businesses are complying with Indiana’s humane final disposition law. If any abortion businesses are found to be noncompliant, their licenses should be immediately revoked.” †

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