Indiana appeals ruling blocking part of abortion law

Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said Friday he will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocks parts of a new state law that would make it tougher for girls under age 18 to get an abortion without their parents’ knowledge.

Hill on Friday criticized the preliminary injunction issued on June 28.

“It’s easier for a 14-year-old to get an abortion than to get a tattoo,” Hill said. He added that the legal challenge brought by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky “is nothing more than an attempt to give courts rather than parents the legal guardianship of children.”

The ruling prevented three portions of the law from taking effect July 1. They include a provision that would require judges to decide whether a minor’s parents should be notified of her intention to seek an abortion.

U.S. District Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker wrote in approving a temporary injunction that “when it comes to our children, while parents or others entrusted with their care and wellbeing have the lawful and moral obligation always to act in their best interests, children are not bereft of separate identities, interests, and legal standing.”