CHICAGO — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has denied the State of Indiana’s request to reconsider its ruling that the government cannot punish Planned Parenthood for providing young people with truthful information about legal abortion care in other states.
The order upholds an August ruling that permanently blocks Indiana from enforcing its so-called "aid-or-assist" law against Planned Parenthood for providing information or referrals connecting young patients with legal out-of-state abortion providers.
“Indiana asked a federal appeals court for another shot at censoring our staff, including our providers, and not a single judge was willing to give it one. The law stays blocked. The state has lost this fight time again, and the message couldn’t be more clear: the First Amendment does not allow the government to decide what truthful information healthcare providers can share with their patients” said Rebecca Gibron, CEO and President of PPGNHAIK. “For years, Indiana politicians have tried to keep young people in the dark about their legal options by prohibiting providers’ speech. Through every round of this case, federal courts have upheld the First Amendment and allowed Planned Parenthood to continue to provide our patients with accurate information about legal healthcare services outside of Indiana. Indiana can keep trying to silence us. But we’ll keep fighting for our patients.”
Indiana’s effort to restrict what healthcare providers can tell their patients dates back to 2017, when lawmakers passed a law threatening to punish anyone who helped an unemancipated minor obtain an abortion without notarized parental consent or court approval. Planned Parenthood challenged the law before it could take effect, arguing that the State had no right to censor truthful information about legal abortion care in other states. A federal judge blocked enforcement of the challenged provision that June, but Indiana has spent nearly a decade fighting in court to defend the restriction.
A federal district court permanently blocked the restriction in 2024, and a three-judge panel of Seventh Circuit upheld that decision in August 2026, finding that the information and referrals are protected by the First Amendment. The State then asked the full appeals court to reconsider, but that request has now been denied.
“We’re glad the court is standing by its decision,” said Gavin Rose, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU of Indiana. “It’s hard to believe we’ve spent nearly a decade fighting over whether a healthcare provider can simply talk to a young patient about their options. The First Amendment protects those conversations, regardless of whether the state disagrees with the care being discussed.”
PPGNHAIK is represented by attorneys from the ACLU of Indiana, the ACLU, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
The court’s order can be found here.
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ABOUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD GREAT NORTHWEST, HAWAI‘I, ALASKA, INDIANA, KENTUCKY (PPGNHAIK)
PPGNHAIK is a leading sexual and reproductive healthcare provider and advocate. The organization operates health centers in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, and Western Washington and provides medical services and sexuality education for thousands of people each year. PPGNHAIK is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and relies heavily on charitable donations to ensure our patients’ ability to determine their own destinies and receive the health care they need.
ABOUT THE ACLU OF INDIANA
The ACLU of Indiana is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights and civil liberties of all Hoosiers. Through litigation, advocacy, public education, and organizing, we work to defend the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. and Indiana constitutions.
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