Indiana’s appeals court hears arguments challenging abortion ban under a state religious freedom law

By ISABELLA VOLMERT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Court of Appeals of Indiana is considering a challenge to the state’s near total abortion ban on grounds it violates a religious freedom law. A lawsuit originally filed in September 2022 by a group of Indiana residents and the group Hoosier Jews for Choice makes the case that the ban violates a 2015 religious freedom law approved by Republican lawmakers. After a county judge ruled in favor of the residents last year, Indiana’s attorney general appealed the decision. The court heard arguments Wednesday but did not indicate when it would rule on the appeal.