Pregnant women should be allowed to get an abortion because of the race, gender or disability of their unborn child, a US judge has ruled.
Vice President Mike Pence had signed a law during his time as Governor of Indiana which prohibited abortions in the state for these reasons.
However, US District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt postponed the law taking effect last year, and has now ruled that it will not come in at all.
Not representative
Judge Pratt said the law violated the precedents set by the Supreme Court cases of Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey.
The law had been challenged by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky with legal representation from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana.
Mike Fichter, President and CEO of Indiana Right to Life, said he was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.
He added that Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and Obama-appointee Judge Pratt “do not represent the majority” of Indiana’s citizens.
‘Science fiction’
Fichter went on to say: “No one should be targeted for abortion solely because of their sex, race, national origin or a potential disability like Down syndrome.”
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill plans to appeal Judge Pratt’s decision.
He said: “By declaring unconstitutional a state law that would bar abortions based solely on race, sex or disability such as Down syndrome, a federal judge has cleared the path for genetic discrimination that once seemed like science fiction.”
Planned Parenthood received over $554 million from government grants and bursaries in 2016.
‘Heartbroken’
In its latest report, the largest abortion provider in the US revealed that it has increased its profits by over 30 per cent. This is despite performing 46 per cent fewer prenatal services, and 11.6 per cent fewer breast exams than the previous year.
At the time of the report’s release, the American Center for Law and Justice said: “Abortions are up. Profits are up. Taxpayer-funded government bailouts are up. Yet cancer screenings, prenatal services, and other women’s health services continue to drop. It’s stunning.
“As taxpayers, we should be upset. As humans, we should be heartbroken.”