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Saturday, June 12, 2010
Ind. Law - "Allen County hires outsiders to defend in abortion dispute"
Updating this ILB entry from June 10, 2010, where the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported that the county commissioners were discussing hiring the Allied Defense Fund to serve as primary legal counsel for the county in a recent lawsuit against a new ordinance, Amanada Iacone of the FWJG reports in this June 11th story:
The Allen County commissioners today agreed to hire the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund to defend against a lawsuit seeking to overturn the county’s new patient safety ordinance.The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution that appoints the attorney Steven Aden and the Defense Fund as the county’s primary legal counsel.
The alliance of Christian attorneys focuses on areas of litigation that affect religious liberty, marriage, the family and the sanctity of life, including abortion and assisted suicide related cases.
The commissioners defended the move before their vote.
Some may question the motive behind the ordinance and the commissioners' hiring decision, but the ordinance was intended to address general patient safety, not abortion, Commissioner Nelson Peters said.
Commissioner Bill Brown blamed the man who brought the lawsuit against the county for making the ordinance about abortion.
Dr. George Klopfer, the lone surgical abortion provider in Fort Wayne, sued the county in May seeking to overturn the county’s new patient safety ordinance, claiming it presents an undue burden on women seeking such services, is unconstitutionally vague, violates patients’ rights to privacy, discriminates against certain classes of doctors and seeks to regulate an area already regulated by the state.
Klopfer is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. * * *
nitial hearings have already been in held Allen Superior Court. However, county attorney Bill Fishering believes the case will end up in federal court, Peters said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 12, 2010 09:36 AM
Posted to Indiana Law