Indiana

Indiana Senate votes to outlaw abortion pills by enabling citizen lawsuits

Published

1 month ago

January 28, 2026

Indiana Senate votes to outlaw abortion pills by enabling citizen lawsuits

What some are calling a “dangerous” escalation of Indiana’s abortion ban, others are calling a chance to close a gaping loophole.

They’re talking about a bill cracking down on abortion-inducing drugs in Indiana, which passed the state Senate on Jan. 27 by a 35-10 vote and represents the next frontier of the anti-abortion movement.

“In a post-Dobbs era, Indiana has chosen life,” bill author Sen. Tyler Johnson, R-Leo, said on the Senate floor. “This bill reinforces that choice by defining abortion clearly and providing civil tools to enforce our laws.”

Republican lawmakers have been eyeing these drugs in recent years since the felling of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the abortion ban that immediately followed in Indiana. That law prohibits doctors here from providing abortions except in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies or when the pregnant person’s life is at risk, and says all medication abortions must be conducted in-person, not via telehealth.

But federal regulations do allow abortion-inducing drugs to be accessed through telehealth services and mailed to patients ― such as from abortion-allowing states to abortion-restricting states. That’s where the rub is.

“What we’re seeing is an influx, and people breaking the law and mailing these drugs directly to women. God forbid any of you physicians are complicit in that,” Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, another author of Senate Bill 236, scolded a handful of doctors who came before the Senate judiciary committee to speak against the bill.

The bill would outlaw the manufacturing, mailing, prescribing or delivering of abortion-inducing drugs to Hoosiers not by making this a criminal act, but a civil one over which any citizen could wage a wrongful-death or whistleblower lawsuit.

In other words, any Hoosier who believes someone ordered a drug to perform an illegal abortion in Indiana could sue a person responsible for doing the manufacturing, mailing, prescribing or delivering. But exempt from liability are the pregnant mother, Indiana doctors and health facilities, internet service providers, transportation network companies and mail carriers. This means, though, that Hoosiers could sue out-of-state doctors.

“In the very rare instances where it is legal to prescribe the abortion bill, you will follow our laws and be licensed here,” Brown said. “You will not be mailing it.”

Those doing the suing can reap relief of at least $100,000 if they win, plus have their attorney’s fees paid by the defendant.

Indianapolis attorney Kathleen DeLaney likened this to bounty hunting.

“What’s really happening here is creating an army of private litigants standing in the name of the government seeking $100k bounties from others,” she said.

Though LaGrange Republican Sen. Sue Glick authored the original abortion ban in 2022, she sympathized with the bill’s opponents, saying the bill would have a “chilling effect” by forcing doctors to second-guess every little circumstance and then allowing non-experts to wage lawsuits.

“We’re sitting here making a decision to allow non-medical people make medical decisions on these issues and then we throw it to non-lawyers to litigate whether or not these were proper medical decisions,” she said during the judiciary committee hearing, before voting no. She voted in favor on the bill on the floor.

But Brown contended the only chilling effect will be on people providing illegal abortions, including via the mail.

“We’re looking for… bad actors obtaining these pills illegally to kill a baby,” she said on the Senate floor Jan. 26. “So yeah, we’re okay with suing them.”

Bill spurs confusion

Doctors who oppose the bill are not only concerned that the lawsuit-enabling language would add fear and confusion to the atmosphere in which they provide care, but they say so would a few other provisions in the bill.

For one, the bill amends slightly the definition of abortion to specifically exempt procedures done to expel a miscarriage, stillbirth or ectopic pregnancy.

But that leaves out a number of other scenarios that they now feel the need to call into question, such as a molar pregnancy, in which fetal body parts and even a heart beat can develop but won’t become an actual baby. Leaving such a pregnancy untreated can lead to cancer or infertility, said Dr. Erin Lips, a gynecologic oncologist at IU Health.

“In my last few years I’ve seen more new moms on death’s door in Indiana than I would have expected,” she said. “Cases like this will become more common.”

They are further concerned about the part of the bill that would add details required in terminated pregnancy reports ― including the name of the person who provided the abortion care ― and require these reports be filed to the office of the inspector general, in addition to the department of health.

At play in the background is an ongoing lawsuit over the question of whether these reports should be public documents subject to Indiana’s public records law. Attorney General Todd Rokita supports making them public, but a Marion County judge has temporarily declared them private medical records.

State lawmakers want additional oversight over the terminated pregnancy reports to make sure Indiana doctors aren’t performing abortions illegally. The doctors are fearful that added confusion over what counts as an illegal abortion will lead to delays in care, and thus risks to the patients’ health.

Those doctors and patients are also uncomfortable with personal patient data, such as their age, race and county that is listed in these reports, being seen by parties outside the department of health.

Danielle Spry, a Hendricks County mother who said she had a second-trimester abortion in 2019 due to a catastrophic disability she learned about 20 weeks along, said the idea that her private medical decision would be examined by people outside the medical field is “violating.”

“How dare any of you look at me and say you would have done anything different,” she said.

How common are medication abortions in Indiana?

Since the abortion ban actually took effect in late 2023, the state health department has reported about 30 to 40 abortions a quarter, compared to pre-ban figures of about 2,000 a quarter, according to the department’s aggregate abortion reporting.

Of those 42 abortions performed in the third quarter of 2025, about a quarter were done using abortion-inducing drugs Misoprostol and Mifepristone. This data only accounts for abortions performed in medical settings that are reported to the state and may not present a complete picture, however.

Abortions provided through telehealth, most likely from out-of-state providers, have been rising since Indiana’s abortion ban took effect, according to a new report by the Society for Family Planning. Where there were virtually none prior to July 2023, the number reported after that has steadily climed from about 200 a month in 2024 to 400 a month in 2025.

Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17.

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Indiana

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

Published

7 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating March 1 after a mariner died while working on a barge in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

An incident involving the mariner occurred the afternoon of Feb. 27 at mile marker 597 of the Ohio River, said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Leighty, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Ohio Valley Sector. Leighty declined to provide further details about the mariner and the circumstances of their death, citing the ongoing investigation.

Officials with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the incident, Leighty said.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

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Indiana Pacers Must Manage Two-Way Contract Player Availability Down Stretch

Published

19 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Indiana Pacers Must Manage Two-Way Contract Player Availability Down Stretch

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 20: Ethan Thompson #55 of the Indiana Pacers takes a shot over Derik Queen #22 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at Smoothie King Center on December 20, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)

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WASHINGTON – The Indiana Pacers have a player availability puzzle to put together down the stretch of the 2025-26 season, and it involves all three of their players on two-way contracts.

Currently, the Pacers have Jalen Slawson, Ethan Thompson, and Taelon Peter signed to two-way deals. Thompson and Peter have been helpful at different points this season, and all three players are healthy right now. They each project to have a bigger role in the Pacers’ final outings of the season.

But they can’t all play in every game thanks to two-way contract rules, and the Pacers will have to juggle the availability of each player. Indiana has already played multiple games since the All-Star break with just one or two or their two-way contract signees available to play.

That’s because two-way agreements come with a limit – players on such contracts can only be active in 50 games per season (or a proportionate ratio of 50/82 games at the time of signing based on the number of days left in the season). The Pacers couldn’t get by without their two-way contract players at various moments this season due to injuries, with Peter being active for 23 of the team’s first 25 games and Thompson during every game from December 1 through January 17.

During those stretches, Indiana needed their two-way players to field a team or a rotation that actually made sense. It wasn’t a poor use of their active days. But that two-way usage early in the season now requires the Pacers to be strategic down the stretch of 2025-26. They have 22 more games this season but won’t be able to use their two-way talents in all of them.

Peter, a rookie selected in the second round of last June’s NBA Draft, had a rush of games to open the campaign, and he’s allowed to suit up 14 more times this league year. “He’s figuring out what being a professional basketball player is about,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Peter and his in-season growth earlier this month. “It’s about being who you are all the time, regardless of make or miss. Just keep playing, just keep staying aggressive.”

Thompson was signed on November 30, which permitted him to appear in 39 games this season. He’s only got 10 left – Thompson was effective right away with the Pacers and played often after his signing. He was named to the NBA G League Next Up game, effectively the G League All-Star game, for his performances this campaign.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – OCTOBER 13: Taelon Peter #4 of the Indiana Pacers takes a shot against the San Antonio Spurs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on October 13, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

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Slawson signed his contract earlier today and is eligible for 13 appearances the rest of the way for the Pacers. So, with 22 games remaining, none of the team’s two-way contract players can be active for each remaining game. The team will have to figure out the best strategy when it comes to managing two-way player availability during the final months of the season.

Another consideration for the franchise is that two-way players, by virtue of their contract, can be transferred down to the G League at any time. Peter, Slawson, and Thomspon have combined for 64 appearances with Indiana’s G League affiliate team, the Noblesville Boom, this season. Once the Boom’s season ends – their final scheduled game is March 26 but the team currently holds a playoff spot – then the G League is not an option for two-way players.

So the Pacers have to figure out the best way to deploy, and evaluate, their two-way contract signees during March and April. It’s a lot to manage.

“We’re trying to save games for him,” Carlisle said of the Pacers decision to keep Quenton Jackson, who was previously on a two-way contract, inactive for a game earlier this month. “We want to conserve those games as much as possible.”

Jackson had his contract converted from a two-way deal to a standard deal earlier today, and Slawson filled his two-way slot. It was sharp business for the Pacers, but they lost some available two-way days as a result – Jackson had more than 13 games remaining, but Slawson gets fewer because of the day he signed his contract.

“Two-way guys, your life is a lot of unpredictability of where you’re going to be from day to day,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan shared in February.

If the Pacers want to keep their two-way talents around the NBA club as much as possible, their best course of action could be to keep two of the three active in every game and occasionally just have one of the three available. If the team can get to a spot in which they have 15 games left on the schedule and all of their two-way talents have 10+ games left in which they could be active, two of the three could play every night during the final 15 outings. Using all three at once could be difficult, though Indiana may choose to deploy each of Thompson, Peter, and Slawson on the second night of back-to-backs as they manage injuries down the stretch. Putting any of the trio in the G League for a few days is an option, too, but comes with injury risks.

Slawson has not appeared in a game for the Pacers yet this season. Peter is averaging 3.3 points per game while shooting 35.8% from the field while Thompson is posting 4.9 points per contest and knocking down 36.7% of his shots. The Pacers are 15-45 with three back-to-backs remaining and three games left against teams near them in the inverse standings.

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Indiana Pacers To Add Wing Jalen Slawson Via A Two-Way Contract

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Indiana Pacers To Add Wing Jalen Slawson Via A Two-Way Contract

Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson dribbles during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract. The 26-year old forward has spent the ongoing campaign with the Pacers G League affiliate franchise, the Noblesville Boom. It’s a one-year pact covering the rest of the 2025-26 season.

Slawson was a second-round pick back in 2023 and spent his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. That campaign, the Furman product appeared in 12 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Since then, he has bounced around between the Orlando Magic and Pacers organizations.

Most of Slawson’s time in the pros has come via the G League. With the Kings and Magic affiliate teams, the forward averaged between 12 and 13 points per game while being a solid passer and rebounder for his position.

That got him a training camp invite with Indiana last fall. Slawson spent all of the 2025 preseason on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, and he appeared in all four of the team’s tune-up games ahead of the regular season. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Slawson was waived just before the regular season, but the Pacers affiliate team owned his G League rights, and he’s spent the entire season with the Noblesville Boom. That’s where the 6-foot-7 forward has popped – he’s averaging G League career highs of 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Boom this season, including an improved 34.7% three-point percentage.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 7: Jules Bernard #14 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the preseason game at Target Center on October 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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He’s been among Noblesville’s best players this year, and with the team losing many players to injury or overseas opportunities, he has recently become the G League’ club’s top option. Even with more responsibility and attention, Slawson has continued to produce.

Now, he gets a call up to the Pacers via a two-way contract. He’s eligible to be active for 13 of the Pacers final 22 games – two-way contract players are only able to appear in a maximum of 50 games in a league year, and that ratio of games gets prorated if they are signed mid-season.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had good memories of Slawson’s play for Indiana during the preseason. “ I think he’s an NBA player,” Carlisle said. “He’s had a good year with the Boom and this will be a great opportunity for him to play some games.”

Two-way contracts provide a salary that is half of the NBA’s rookie minimum, which would equate to $636k over the course of a full season. Prorated for the current day on the calendar, that means Slawson will make about $161k on his two-way with Indiana the rest of the season.

Two-way deals have no impact on a team’s salary cap, so the Pacers have no changes to their spending reality. They opened up a two-way spot by converting the contract of Quenton Jackson earlier this weekend.

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