Facial Challenge – Abortion Complications

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, Inc., v. Marion County Prosecutor, et al.,

Case No.: 20-2407

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WOOD, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Facial Challenge – Abortion Complications 

This appeal queries whether an Indiana statute that requires medical providers to report complications “arising from” abortions to the state is unconstitutionally vague on its face. Although the statute has some ambiguity, we conclude that Planned Parenthood has not shown that the law is unconstitutionally vague on its face in this pre-enforcement challenge. Because we conclude that the Complications Statute does have a discernable core for the purposes of this pre-enforcement, facial challenge, we REVERSE the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Planned Parenthood on its vagueness challenge and VACATE the district court’s permanent injunction on that basis. The case is REMANDED to the district court for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

Reversed and remanded in part. Vacated in part.

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.