Indiana abortion law bans nearly all abortions, with three narrow exceptions: pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, lethal fetal anomalies, and threats to the pregnant person’s life or serious health. The ban took effect after the Indiana Supreme Court upheld it in June 2023, and providers who perform an abortion outside those exceptions face a Level 5 felony and mandatory revocation of their medical license.
How the Ban Works
Indiana’s legislature passed Senate Bill 1 in a special session in August 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The statute declares abortion a criminal act in all instances except for the short list of exceptions below.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion
Even when an exception applies, the abortion must be performed in a hospital licensed under Indiana law or in an ambulatory outpatient surgical center that is majority-owned by a licensed hospital.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion The law revoked the licensure of standalone abortion clinics, so the number of places a legal abortion can occur in Indiana is small. Qualifying patients must find a hospital or hospital-owned surgical center willing and staffed to perform the procedure.
The Three Exceptions
Rape or Incest
An abortion is permitted when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, but only during the first ten weeks of postfertilization age.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion A criminal conviction is not required, but the assault must have been reported, and the physician has to confirm and document that report. The ten-week window is short, and many sexual assaults go unreported, which makes this exception harder to use in practice than it appears on paper.
Lethal Fetal Anomaly
When a fetus has been diagnosed with a condition incompatible with life outside the womb, abortion is permitted up to twenty weeks of postfertilization age, with medical documentation of the diagnosis.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion Many severe fetal conditions are not detected until the anatomy scan around 18 to 20 weeks, which can leave very little time between diagnosis and the legal cutoff.
Life or Serious Health Risk
An abortion is permitted at any gestational age when a physician determines it is necessary to save the pregnant person’s life or to prevent a serious health risk, defined as a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion There is no gestational limit, but the physician must document the specific condition justifying the procedure. Conditions like preeclampsia, sepsis, and hemorrhage can escalate quickly, and providers have described the legal uncertainty around this exception as a factor that delays care.
Medication Abortion and Telemedicine
p>Any use of mifepristone or another abortion-inducing drug must be administered in person at a qualifying hospital or hospital-owned surgical center. The statute expressly states that “in person” does not include telehealth or telemedicine.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1 – Required Circumstances of Abortion Telemedicine prescribing of abortion pills within Indiana is effectively banned.
Federal rules take a different approach. The FDA’s Mifepristone REMS Program allows mifepristone to be prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed by mail through certified pharmacies.2U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Information About Mifepristone for Medical Termination of Pregnancy Through Ten Weeks Gestation A 2022 Department of Justice opinion concluded that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing abortion drugs when the sender lacks intent that the recipient will use them unlawfully.3U.S. Department of Justice. Application of the Comstock Act to the Mailing of Prescription Drugs That Can Be Used for Abortions That DOJ interpretation could change under future administrations, and Indiana providers who prescribe by telemedicine still face prosecution under state law.
Rules for Minors
A minor under 18 who qualifies for an exception still needs parental consent before the procedure. A parent, legal guardian, or custodian must provide notarized written consent, government-issued identification, and evidence of the parental or guardian relationship, and the physician must keep those records in the minor’s file for at least seven years.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-4 – Consent of Parent or Legal Guardian
A minor who objects to seeking consent, or whose parent refuses, can petition a juvenile court for a judicial bypass. The court may authorize the procedure if it finds the minor mature enough to decide independently or that the abortion is in the minor’s best interest. The parental consent requirement does not apply at all when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest committed by a parent, guardian, or custodian.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-4 – Consent of Parent or Legal Guardian
Penalties for Providers
Consequences for physicians operate on two tracks. Performing an unlawful abortion is a Level 5 felony.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-7 – Performance of Unlawful Abortion Offense A Level 5 felony carries a fixed prison term of one to six years, an advisory sentence of three years, and a possible fine of up to $10,000.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-6 – Level 5 Felony
Separately, the law mandates revocation of the physician’s medical license for performing an abortion that violates the statute or for failing to file required pregnancy termination reports.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 25-22.5-8-6 – Revocation of Physician License Revocation is not discretionary. This dual exposure has made many Indiana physicians cautious about performing abortions even when they believe an exception applies, because the consequences of misjudging the line are career-ending.
Reporting, Informed Consent, and Insurance
Every physician who performs an abortion or prescribes an abortion-inducing drug must file a report with the Indiana State Department of Health on a state-developed form.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-5 – Report Requirement per Abortion Failing to submit the report is itself grounds for license revocation.
Patients must also receive an informed consent brochure developed by the Department. The brochure includes color photographs of fetal development at two-week intervals, information about medical risks of abortion, and information about risks of carrying the pregnancy to term.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-34-2-1.5 – Informed Consent Brochure Requirements
Insurance coverage is limited. Medicaid covers abortion only in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment, consistent with the federal Hyde Amendment. Private insurance plans sold in Indiana cannot include standard abortion coverage; any coverage requires a separately purchased rider. Even a patient who qualifies for a legal exception may face significant out-of-pocket costs, since the rider is not commonly purchased and many plans do not offer one.
Federal Protections That Still Apply
Emergency Care Under EMTALA
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires any hospital that accepts Medicare funding to screen and stabilize anyone who arrives with an emergency medical condition. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether EMTALA preempts state abortion bans in Moyle v. United States, involving Idaho’s ban. The Court dismissed the case without a final ruling on preemption, and a lower-court injunction remained in place preventing Idaho from enforcing its ban when an abortion was needed to prevent serious health consequences.10Supreme Court. Moyle v. United States Indiana’s ban already includes a serious health risk exception, so the gap is narrower here than it was in Idaho, but EMTALA creates a federal floor that hospitals cannot ignore.
Patient Privacy Under HIPAA
A 2024 update to the HIPAA Privacy Rule added explicit protections for reproductive health care information. Covered entities cannot use or disclose protected health information to investigate or impose liability on any person for seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating reproductive health care that was lawful where it was provided or protected by federal law.11Federal Register. HIPAA Privacy Rule To Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy Health care providers must update their Notice of Privacy Practices to reflect the new protections by February 16, 2026. The rule is especially relevant for patients who obtain a legal abortion in another state and then return to Indiana for follow-up.
Protection From Physical Interference
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prohibits the use or threat of force, physical obstruction, and property damage aimed at interfering with reproductive health services.12U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances and Places of Religious Worship Fewer Indiana facilities now provide abortions, but the FACE Act still applies to the hospitals and surgical centers that do.
Ongoing Legal Challenges
In June 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in Members of the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana v. Planned Parenthood Great Northwest that the state constitution’s due process right to privacy does not protect a general right to abortion. The Court did recognize a constitutional right to abortion when necessary to protect the patient’s life or to prevent a serious health risk, and it upheld the rest of the ban. It left the door open for future as-applied challenges based on specific circumstances and did not rule on a separate privileges and immunities claim.
A separate challenge under Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has moved on a different track. The ACLU of Indiana argued that the ban substantially burdens the religious exercise of individuals whose faiths do not prohibit abortion. In March 2025, a Marion County Superior Court judge granted a permanent injunction lifting the ban for individuals with sincere religious objections. The case was certified as a class action, so the ruling could reach beyond the original plaintiffs. The state attorney general has appealed, and the case is likely headed to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Traveling Out of State
Indiana has not enacted a law criminalizing residents who travel to another state to obtain a legal abortion. Illinois in particular has become a primary destination for Indiana residents seeking care. Any follow-up medical care obtained in Indiana can still generate records subject to state reporting requirements, though the HIPAA reproductive health privacy protections above may offer some cover for information about lawful out-of-state care.