The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today on Indiana’s “restrictive” abortion law. It validated certain provisions of the law and invalidated others. In doing so, it has authorized the requirement to bury or incinerate the tissues of aborted foetuses as “other human remains” and not as “medical waste”, while “not affecting women’s right” to abortion, thus allowing the law to take effect.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court declared that the State could not ban women from having an abortion due to “the sex, race, or a deformity of the foetus”, in particular if Down syndrome is detected. On this last point, however, it stated that it had followed its “usual practice of rejecting applications until the legal points raised have been considered by more courts of appeals”, thus reserving the right to change its stance at a later date.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence welcomed the Supreme Court’s first validation of “Indiana’s provision that protects the sanctity of life by requiring that the remains of aborted babies be treated with respect and dignity”. As for the second decision, he said he was “confident that the Supreme Court will later consider one of the many laws banning abortions throughout the United States on the basis of sex, race, or disability […] Countries around the world are banning selective abortions and the United States should do the same”.
Further reading:
Will the ban on aborting babies with Down syndrome in Indiana be upheld?
AFP (28/05/2019)