Indiana filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court July 13 urging it to speed up the post-judgment paperwork after it reversed Roe v. Wade and remanded a related case so it can enforce abortion regulations put on hold by lower courts.
The request comes as the states figure out how to deal with the Roe ruling. Several states, including Indiana, are poised to begin enforcing abortion restrictions.
Supreme Court rules provide that the court’s “mandate” issues 25 days after the judgment is rendered unless the court shortens the waiting period or the parties agree it should issue sooner. That would mean the mandate in this case is on track to be issued July 25.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) wants to accelerate the process so the state can begin enforcing a law requiring that parents be notified when a court permits a minor to obtain an abortion without the parents’ consent.
The Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe precedent on June 24, returning the regulation of abortion to the states and upholding Mississippi’s abortion restrictions.
Box v. Planned Parenthood
On June 30, the high court followed up by summarily granting judgment (pdf) in a pending case called Box v. Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky without hearing oral arguments, remanding it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit for a fresh look in light of the June 24 ruling. In this extensively litigated case that previously found its way to the Supreme Court, the appeals court on March 12, 2021, upheld a federal district court’s preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the parental-notification law.
The notification requirement is important because “it aids parental consultation in what may be a ‘difficult and painful moral decision,’” Indiana Solicitor General Thomas M. Fisher argued in the July 13 emergency application (pdf), quoting an earlier ruling.
“Where a minor seeks an abortion based on the incorrect assumption that her parents would disapprove of her carrying the pregnancy to term or based on a fear that she lacks sufficient financial resources to care for a child, timely notification may allow parents to correct misapprehensions or offer financial support,” Fisher wrote.
Notification “also enables parents to provide counsel and comfort to minors who go through with abortions and who are grappling with emotions or regrets. And parental notification ensures that parents know their child’s complete medical history, which may be important in making future medical decisions for the child.”
Because the injunction is now “without legal basis and … is inflicting irreparable harm to important state interests, there is no reason to delay transmittal of this Court’s judgment. Delay would only serve to prevent enforcement of a duly enacted state law designed to protect minors, families, and the unborn,” Fisher wrote.
Chief Justice John Roberts ordered the respondent, Planned Parenthood, to respond to Indiana’s request by 5 p.m. Eastern time on July 15.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett is recused because she participated in the case as a judge when it was before the 7th Circuit.
The Epoch Times reached out for comment to Planned Parenthood but had not received a reply as of press time.
This article by Matthew Vadum appeared July 14, 2022, in The Epoch Times.
Photo: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, in official portrait