Opinion ID: 4433771
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Evidence and Likely Eﬀects

Text: In support of its motion for preliminary injunction, Planned Parenthood submitted aﬃdavits from seven witnesses to show the likely eﬀects of the statute. The State chose to introduce no evidence in response. The State argued that it was “self-evident” that it had met its burden to justify the law with a legitimate state interest. The State did not challenge the reliability or credibility of Planned Parenthood’s evidence. That lopsided factual record indicates that, for the small group of minors aﬀected by this law, requiring parental notice is likely a “deal breaker” for a significant fraction. Smith Decl. ¶ 20. Our summary of the evidence draws heavily from Judge Barker’s thorough opinion. No. 17-2428 7 Planned Parenthood is a not-for-profit corporation that operates multiple Indiana health centers. Beeley Decl. ¶ 3. Those centers provide reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education to thousands of women and men, including adults and teenagers. Id. Consistent with Indiana law, Planned Parenthood physicians provide abortions to minors at the four Planned Parenthood facilities in Indiana that oﬀer abortion services. Beeley Decl. ¶¶ 4–5, 8. The vast majority of these minors obtain consent from their parents, guardians, or custodians. In fiscal year 2015 (the most recent data in the record), over 96 percent had obtained consent; fewer than four percent had obtained a judicial bypass. Beeley Decl. ¶¶ 9, 19. That amounts on average to about ten judicialbypass abortions per year by Planned Parenthood. See Smith Decl. ¶ 9. Planned Parenthood counsels minors to discuss their desire for an abortion with a parent. Beeley Decl. ¶ 20. Some minors tell Planned Parenthood staﬀ that they do not want to, or feel they cannot, inform their parents that they are pregnant and wish to obtain an abortion. Id., ¶¶ 20–21. In that case, Planned Parenthood gives the minor the telephone number of the bypass coordinator—a person who does not work for Planned Parenthood and who maintains a list of attorneys who can represent a young woman in a judicial bypass proceeding. Beeley Decl. ¶ 24; Smith Decl. ¶¶ 5- 6. Planned Parenthood does not sponsor the bypass coordinator’s eﬀorts. Smith Decl. ¶ 6. Over a six-year period, between October 2011 and September 2017, approximately 60 minors contacted Indiana’s bypass coordinator. Smith Decl. ¶ 9. Most were seventeen years old. Id. Usually, the young women interested in pursuing 8 No. 17-2428 judicial bypass have not told their parents that they are pregnant and are seeking an abortion. Id., ¶ 14. These young women have expressed various reasons for not telling their parents. Some fear being kicked out of their homes. Others fear being abused or punished, or fear that their parents will try to block an abortion. Id., ¶¶ 15–16; Beeley Decl. ¶ 22; Flood Decl. ¶ 9; Pinto Decl. ¶¶ 14–15; Lucido Decl. ¶¶ 8–12. One young woman was forced to give birth because her mother discovered her pregnancy and blocked her ability to have an abortion. Glynn Decl. ¶ 13. Other minors express related concerns like injury to their relationships with their parents or parental disappointment. Smith Decl. ¶ 17. Some minors do not know where their parents are and have no legal guardian or custodian who could fulfill the consent requirement. Beeley Decl. ¶ 23; Lucido Decl. ¶ 13. Consistently, the young women express their fear that their parent(s) will discover that they are pregnant and seeking an abortion. Smith Decl. ¶ 18; Glynn Decl. ¶ 12; Lucido Decl. ¶¶ 8–13. The bypass coordinator currently informs young women that no one involved in the bypass process will notify their parents that they are pregnant or seeking an abortion. Smith Decl. ¶ 18. As the district court found, however, Indiana’s new law makes this assurance impossible. 258 F. Supp. 3d at 936–37. The district court also found that bypasses granted to Planned Parenthood’s patients “have generally been based on the juvenile court’s finding that the minor was suﬃciently mature to make the abortion decision independent of her parents,” as distinct from the minor’s “best interests.” Id. at 936, citing Beeley Decl. ¶ 26; Flood Decl. ¶ 6; Glynn Decl. ¶ 9. No. 17-2428 9