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INDIANAPOLIS – Under Indiana’s law that bans most abortions on Sept. 15, the state’s largest hospital system, Indiana University Health, has set up a “Rapid Response Team” to help doctors seek guidance on whether they can legally perform abortions. To protect the mother’s health and other conditions.
“We know this is new territory for many of our providers,” said Dr. David Ingram, CEO of IU Healthcare. And that adds to the stress on whether you’re actually making the right decisions.
He said the rapid response team would be available around the clock and would consist of three people: a doctor or other clinical professional, a lawyer and a member of the ethics team.
Last year, IU Health performed 53 abortions, or less than 1% of the 8,414 total abortions performed in Indiana, according to data from the Indiana Department of Health.
Most abortions in Indiana are performed at seven independent clinics owned by Planned Parenthood and three independent operators. Under the new law, abortions can only be performed in hospitals or hospital-owned outpatient centers, meaning all abortion clinics will lose their licenses.
“We will continue to provide abortion care, legal abortion care to our patients in our state through our system,” said Dr. Caroline Rouse, an obstetrician and gynecologist and medical director of maternity services at IU Health. “We know abortion is safe. It’s evidence-based. We will continue to provide that care within the parameters of the new law.”
Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature passed stricter abortion restrictions on Aug. 5, making it the first state to overturn federal abortion protections since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Indiana’s law includes some narrow exceptions: allowing abortions for rape and sexual intercourse before 10 weeks of conception. To protect the life and physical health of the mother; And if the fetus is diagnosed with a fatal abnormality.
Any doctors found to have performed illegal abortions will have their state medical licenses revoked and face a felony charge of up to 6 years in prison.
IU health officials say they have established a “contingency ordering structure” involving about 60 of its top executives to consider dozens of issues that could arise under the new law.
Ingram and Rouse said that when doctors cannot legally provide abortions, they may refer patients to states where abortions are legal.
Last year, IU Health doctors performed 39 abortions at Methodist Hospital, 19 at Riley Hospital for Children (including maternity care), three at University Hospital and one at West Hospital in Avon.
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