This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, September 1st, 2022.

Later in the program, The ACLU and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Indiana’s near total ban on abortion More in the top half of our program.

Also coming up in the next half hour, IU Health is hosting a monkeypox vaccination clinic for the high-risk population on Miller Drive. More in today’s headlines.

The Statehouse Roundup

The ACLU and Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Indiana’s near total ban on abortion, which is set to go into effect on September 15th.

According to the complaint, the lawsuit was filed in the Monroe County Circuit Court here in Bloomington. Lawyers argue that Senate Bill 1 violates a person’s right to privacy and equal privilege protections in the Indiana constitution.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement, “Today, we are asking that the court does what Indiana lawmakers didn’t — protect Hoosiers’ constitutional rights. Unless this ban is blocked, patients seeking abortion will be unable to access timely and potentially life-saving care in their own communities. The abortion ban that the legislature rushed through during a special session — nearly immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — is both dangerous and incredibly cruel. We demand more for patients and providers, and we will continue fighting for everyone’s right to make their own decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures.”

Of the five plaintiffs in the case, All Options Pregnancy Resource Center joined the lawsuit. Prior to the suit in early August, WFHB News spoke with Jess Marchbank, the state programs manager for All Options. Marchbank described how All Options has fared since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Protesters gather in the streets outside the Indiana Statehouse in opposition to a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in the state (Photo by Kade Young).

Once the law goes into effect, facilities that provide abortion will no longer be able to perform the procedure limiting abortion services to hospital settings in the rare exceptions the law outlines. Those exceptions include cases of incest, rape or if the mother’s life is in danger. The complaint alleges that the exceptions are “unworkable because physicians cannot determine when in a pregnancy the exception permits abortions." If an abortion is performed outside these exceptions, the parties involved are subject to a Level 5 felony punishable by one to six years of imprisonment with a fine up to 10,000 dollars.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said he’s willing to defend the law, writing in a statement, “The Left is notorious for fighting to erase all of the progress and protections secured by the pro-life movement. We don’t need the warped opinions of organizations like the ACLU and Planned Parenthood dictating how we do things in Indiana.”

Abortion bans or severe restrictions on abortion have happened in about a dozen states since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in June of this year.

Ellettsville Town Council

Photo courtesy of Elletsville.

On August 22nd the Ellettsville Town Council discussed creating a non-reverting fund for the parks and recreation department. Town Attorney Darla Brown explained the technicalities of the fund.

Council members Scott Oldham and Dan Swafford said they were confused about the purpose of the fund. Brown explained that the account was established to accept funds and donations for the parks department.

Swafford asked why the fund would need to be a non-reverting fund instead of being a part of the general budget.

Brown said that the purpose of the fund was to collect do...