Attorneys for Planned Parenthood say a new state law that requires doctors to report complications from abortions is too vague to be constitutional. A federal judge in Evansville heard arguments today in a lawsuit challenging Indiana’s anti-abortion measure.
The law creates a long list of purported abortion complications it requires doctors to report, but the ACLU’s Ken Falk, who represents Planned Parenthood, said the measure isn’t clear enough.
“The term is defined so broadly and so uncertainly that it’s impossible to tell what has to be or does not have to be reported,” he said.
That uncertainty may cause doctors to over-report complications, Falk said. Those challenging the law say abortions are safer than dental procedures or colonoscopies, and they argue high reported complication rates could mislead women who consider one.
The state argues the law implies doctors should use common sense when they report and that women can determine for themselves whether an abortion is safe.
If a federal judge doesn’t temporarily halt the law, as Planned Parenthood wants, it goes into effect July 1.