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The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday that will allow abortions to continue in the state while it considers whether new abortion restrictions violate the state’s constitution. In its order, the state Supreme Court denied a request from Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita to allow the law to take effect pending a court ruling. The law — which was the first anti-abortion bill to be signed after the fall of Roe v. Wade — took effect on Sept. 15 but was paused when a lower court judge issued a preliminary injunction a week later. (Messerly, 10/12)

The North Dakota Supreme Court ordered a lower court judge to reconsider his decision to prevent the state’s abortion ban from taking effect pending the outcome of a clinic’s legal challenge. The state Supreme Court late Tuesday ordered Judge Bruce Romanick to weigh the clinic’s chances of succeeding in reconsidering whether his decision to temporarily halt enforcement of the ban was correct. The Red River Women’s Clinic, the state’s only abortion clinic, argues that the state’s constitution grants the right to abortion. (Kolpack, 10/12)

In election updates —

Since a tidal wave of GOP victories in 2020 took Montana from red to dark red, the state’s independent judiciary and constitution have faced attacks by the hard-line Republicans who now dominate. The outcome of the court contest, an ostensibly nonpartisan race between a veteran jurist and a GOP-backed attorney, will be seen both as a measure of how deep their brand of conservatism runs and a test of Montanans’ support for abortion access. (Brulliard, 10/12)

Texas Democrats are hosting an “Our Choice” town hall Thursday night to highlight key candidates’ support for abortion rights in a signal of where some party strategists are placing their emphasis ahead of the midterm elections. (Morton, 10/12)

Wisconsin Democrat Mandela Barnes is looking to turn around his struggling Senate campaign after being battered by two months’ worth of attack ads labeling him soft on crime. His play: make the race a referendum on Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s record on abortion policy. To reverse a slide in the polls, the Democratic lieutenant governor has debuted a “Ron Against Roe” tour of rallies, roundtables and canvassing. He’s launched a negative ad calling Johnson’s view on abortion “alarming.” And he’s gotten a boost from the top Senate Democratic super PAC, which has put up similar anti-Johnson spots. (Otterbein and Kapos, 10/12)

After West Virginia’s Republican supermajority Legislature approved an abortion ban, the new leaders of the state Democratic Party urged voters to take their anger to the polls. But they didn’t match that push with a full slate of candidates. With far fewer Democrats than Republicans in legislative races, the likelihood of winning enough seats to reverse the ban is small in this year’s election. Even where Democrats are running, the challenge is formidable as registered Republicans outnumber them in 35 of the state’s 55 counties. (Raby, 10/12)

Also —

Denny Dalliance had long worried about what would happen if he fathered a child because his job as a truck driver keeps him away from home most of the week. But after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the 31-year-old Independence, Missouri, man decided it was time to take action — and jumped at the chance to sign up for a free vasectomy. ... The vasectomy he is scheduled to get next month is part of an effort that involves Planned Parenthood and a physician with a mobile vasectomy clinic. (Hollingsworth, 10/13)

A new nonprofit is connecting pilots of small airplanes with people seeking access to abortion and gender-affirming care. (Fitzpatrick, 10/13)