Press Releases
11/09/2021
Attorney General Tong Joins Coalition In Opposing Restrictive Abortion Laws
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul in filing an amicus brief supporting a constitutional challenge to several Indiana laws that impose burdensome restrictions on abortion providers.The coalition filed the brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Whole Woman’s Health Alliance v. Rokita. Plaintiffs, including Whole Woman’s Health Alliance, obtained an injunction enjoining the enforcement of numerous Indiana abortion laws that unduly burden access to abortion care. The defendants are now appealing from that decision. In today’s brief, Raoul and the coalition argue that the district court’s ruling is consistent with Supreme Court precedent and should be upheld.
“This law is part of a cruel and relentless attack on reproductive rights across our nation,” Attorney General Tong said. “Indiana’s abortion laws fly in the face of Supreme Court precedent and the well-established right to health care free from political interference. My office stands with our partner states and will continue to fight these restrictive laws to defend every person’s right to choose and safely access abortion services.”
Indiana’s laws impose restrictions on abortion providers that are not imposed on other health care providers, including a requirement that only physicians can perform first-trimester medication abortions; a requirement that second-trimester abortions be performed in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center; a requirement that abortion providers make certain mandatory disclosures in-person to their patients at least 18 hours before performing abortions; and a ban on telemedicine to prescribe abortion-related medications.
Citing testimony from a seven-day district court trial, the coalition argues that the court properly ruled that these laws create an undue burden for patients, especially low-income women. The attorneys general assert that by limiting access to abortion, Indiana’s laws force women to travel to seek care, thereby increasing costs and making it more difficult for people to obtain important health care services.
Joining Attorneys General Tong and Raoul in the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
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