Indiana officials defend controversial abortion law in federal court

A federal appeals court has heard arguments in Indiana’s appeal of a federal judge’s 2016 order blocking a state law that would ban abortions sought due to fetal genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome.

The Indianapolis Star reports that Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher told the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on Thursday that the law is a prohibition on “discriminatory abortion.”

Legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, Ken Falk, argues that Indiana’s law is an infringement on women’s privacy interests. He accuses the state of looking to figure out “why women seek abortion.”

A federal judge in Indianapolis issued a preliminary injunction on June 30, 2016, blocking the law from taking effect the following day.