Indiana House Approves Abortion Center Regs, Fetal Pain Legislation

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 2, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Indiana House Approves Abortion Center Regs, Fetal Pain Legislation Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 2, 2006

Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) — The Indiana state House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved two bills that would inform women of the pain unborn children feel during an abortion and set appropriate regulations on abortion centers that some say could close them down.

The House signed off 60-38 on House Bill 1080, sponsored by Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman.

Planned Parenthood strenuously opposes the bill to protect women’s safety because it claims the regulations would require such extensive renovation to their abortion facilities that they might be forced to close.

Rep. Peggy Welch, a Democrat, said she, too, thought some abortion centers would be forced to shut down and she indicated Planned Parenthood would likely sue to overturn the bill if it becomes law.

The House also backed the fetal pain measure on a 70-30 vote.

The fetal pain measure requires abortion practitioners to tell women considering an abortion at any point in pregnancy that her unborn child may feel pain during the abortion procedure. The information must be given to women at least 18 hours before the abortion so they have time to consider it.

During the committee hearings, representatives of Indiana Right to Life told lawmakers that an unborn child could feel pain as early as seven weeks into pregnancy and pointed out that medical experts say pain is definitely present at 20 weeks into pregnancy.

An April 2004 Zogby poll shows that 77% of Americans back "laws requiring that women who are 20 weeks or more along in their pregnancy be given information about fetal pain before having an abortion."

Only 16 percent disagreed with such a proposal, according to the poll, commissioned by the National Right to Life Committee.

The bill also requires abortion practitioners to provide women with information about adoption and the possible medical risks abortion can cause women.

Under the legislation, women considering an abortion would also be given a copy of a state-sponsored statement indicated human life begins at conception.

Lawmakers who supported the bill said they want to help women find abortion alternatives.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your state Representative by going to https://www.in.gov/legislative and urge strong support for the bills.

Related web sites:
Indiana Right to Life – https://www.indianalife.org