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Judge Blocks Indiana University's Attempt To Join ACLU Abortion Lawsuit

Joey Lax-Salinas
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeybls/

A judge Tuesday denied Indiana University’s attempt to join a lawsuit by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood challenging Indiana’s new anti-abortion law. 

The ACLU of Indiana, on behalf of Planned Parenthood, filed a lawsuit last month seeking to block a new state law that bars abortions performed solely because of a fetus’ potential disability, sex or race. 

Indiana University says a different part of the law, one that bans receiving fetal tissue, will criminalize its research on Alzheimer’s disease. 

IU sought to join Planned Parenthood’s legal challenge, something the Attorney General’s office objected to. And a judge sided with the state, denying IU’s request. 

Judge Debra McVicker Lynch says IU’s request isn’t timely – some filing deadlines have already passed, and a hearing in the Planned Parenthood suit is scheduled for June 14th. Lynch also writes that the legal issues raised by IU are entirely different from those brought by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. She notes IU can file its own case and seek to halt the law before it takes effect July 1st

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.
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