Legal Language Pivot of Ind. Abortion Drug Fight Indiana lawmakers are talking about rewriting the definition of an abortion clinic to include facilities that perform the procedure surgically and by prescribing a pill, a conflict that arose from a wrinkle in the wording of a state law. The move would potentially affect women's health providers who previously have been untouched by laws meant to limit access to abortions. It's the latest battle over abortion rights in a state that passed the first law nationwide meant to deny Planned Parenthood federal funding for general health services. Anti-abortion activists and abortion rights supporters alike expect the drug, marketed as Mifeprex, to be the subject of legislation in as many as nine states - Indiana included - as they re-examine how their laws define an abortion clinic. Initially known as RU-486, the abortion pill was introduced in France in 1988, and gained approval of the Food and Drug Administration on Sept. Thirty-nine states already have laws that in some way restrict the drug's use. "In general terms, there need to be tighter regulations on the abortion pill," said Indiana Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, who earlier this year unsuccessfully sponsored a bill that would have added restrictions on drug-induced abortions in Indiana. Indiana's dispute comes on the heels of a lawsuit over a 2011 Indiana law that would have denied Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions. A legal challenge is still wending its way through federal court. Unsatisfied, Indiana anti-abortion activists are going after the abortion pill. Earlier this month, Indiana Right to Life asked the state to investigate whether a Planned Parenthood clinic in Lafayette is violating state law by performing abortions without a license. Indiana law essentially defines abortion as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. But to qualify as an abortion clinic under the law, a freestanding facility must perform surgical abortions. Indiana Right to Life questioned whether the clinic, which administers Mifeprex, meets state standards for inspections and licensing that are required of other abortion clinics. The attorney general's office said any investigation would be up to the Department of Health, who said the clinic isn't under its purview because it is not required to be licensed. "We believe Indiana's abortion law is at conflict with itself and that Planned Parenthood is exploiting that conflict to expand its abortion business," said Mike Fichter, president and CEO of Indiana Right to Life. He said the organization believes medication abortions should fall under state licensing and inspection requirements. Ten locations offer abortions in Indiana, Planned Parenthood of Indiana President Betty Cockrum said, including four Planned Parenthood clinics and six private offices. The Lafayette clinic is the sole clinic in the state that offers only medication abortion, she said. "There is no argument that medication abortion is in fact an abortion," Cockrum said. But, she added, state law clearly defines an abortion clinic as a freestanding clinic where surgical abortions are performed. Lafayette is the sole clinic that offers only drug-induced abortions, she said. Holdman said he thought the wording of Indiana's abortion law was ambiguous. Rules for the use of the abortion pill are "not like rules for other abortions," he said.