The state attorney general's office appealed that decision and asked the high court to take up the case in December, saying in a statement Tuesday that it would "keep defending the law and fighting for life" in the appeals court.
INDIANA BECOMES FIRST STATE IN NATION TO APPROVE NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BAN POST ROE
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit in September on behalf of those residents — who hold Muslim, Jewish and other faiths — after Republican state lawmakers enacted the ban last summer. The ACLU did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday.
The Indiana Supreme Court will not immediately consider a challenge to the state's abortion ban. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Indiana's ban, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, goes against those residents’ religious values regarding when they believe the treatment is acceptable, the lawsuit argues.
INDIANA JUDGE RULES PROBE OVER 10-YEAR-OLD'S ABORTION CAN CONTINUE
Earlier in January, the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by abortion clinic operators. The court has maintained a block on the abortion ban while it considers the case, after a county judge in September initially found the law likely violated privacy protections under the state constitution.
While Indiana’s ban is blocked, abortion will remain legal in the state up to 20 weeks post-fertilization.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, religious freedoms lawsuits against states' abortion bans have sprouted across the country, where abortion-rights supporters are aiming to protect access to abortion and defend their beliefs.