Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana v. Anonymous Plaintiff (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2023)

In August 2022, Indiana passed a law banning abortion in the state under almost all circumstances.  ADL joined a large interfaith coalition in this amicus brief, drafted by Americans United for the Separation of State, opposing the abortion ban, asserting that it “runs roughshod” over religious pluralism protected by the Indiana Constitution.  The brief contends that Indiana’s new law, reflecting the intent of those legislators supporting it, “imposes one religion-based view of abortion on all Hoosiers” and that in so doing, it runs afoul of the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  It refers to how different religions, including those represented on the brief, have different answers to when life begins, which is “quintessentially a concern of religion, and one that each person must resolve in accordance with individual conscience.”  The brief also tells the court that “keeping the most bitterly divisive religious disputes outside the reach of politics as much as possible is not only critical to religious freedom and social stability but also is a singularly appropriate application of judicial power.”