(LifeSiteNews) — The Indiana Department of Health has completed a sweeping review of its enforcement of state abortion laws, launching new transparency and oversight measures in response to Governor Mike Braun’s Executive Order 25-20.

The July 1 report confirms the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) will tighten compliance with the state’s pro-life statutes following concerns that existing systems fell short. The move follows Braun’s campaign pledge to protect the unborn and uphold pro-life laws.

“Indiana is a state that supports life, and the people’s representatives have enshrined those protections for the unborn into state law,” Braun said.

Key changes include executive-level oversight of all abortion-related matters, expanded enforcement authority, and closer coordination with the attorney general’s office and other state agencies. Notably, IDOH will now pursue financial penalties against hospitals and surgical centers that fail to submit required abortion reports.

Under Indiana law, all abortions must be reported to IDOH within 30 days – or within three days for minors under 16. These Terminated Pregnancy Reports (TPRs) serve as both legal documentation and public health data. Failure to report is a criminal offense.

However, two major hospital systems – IU Health and Eskenazi – have refused to submit recent TPRs, citing a now-vacated federal privacy rule from the Biden administration.

While IDOH recently settled one case challenging past refusal to release TPRs, another suit – Bernard v. Indiana State Health Commissioner – seeks to block the release of individual records altogether.

Amid these legal challenges, IDOH has reaffirmed its commitment to transparency. It is now publishing aggregate quarterly and annual abortion data and is seeking ways to ensure providers understand and follow the law. Future plans include new continuing education programs for medical professionals on legal and reporting requirements.

Braun also committed to strengthening pro-family measures in the state, including paid parental leave and leave for childbirth recovery and parental bereavement.

The report also outlines the broader context: Indiana’s long-standing pro-life policies, from post-Roe regulations to the 2022 near-total abortion ban upheld by the state supreme court in 2023.

With new internal procedures, interagency coordination, and enforcement tools in place, Indiana appears poised to become a model for post-Dobbs state-level pro-life governance – assuming ongoing litigation does not blunt its efforts.