Under legislation an Indiana state Senate committee approved on Wednesday, women would get information from abortion practitioners they may not otherwise receive.
The bill requires abortion practitioners to tell women considering an abortion that the life of the baby they could otherwise give birth to begin at conception and that scientific evidence reveals the unborn child will likely experience significant pain during the abortion at or before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
A similar bill received the support of the Senate previously, but stalled in the General Assembly. However, turnover in the state House following statewide elections that sent new pro-life legislators to Indianapolis could make it so the measure faces better prospects in the lower chamber.
Detractors of the bill said it should be rejected because it would be giving women a religious opinion, but the lawmakers pointed to science and research showing the development of unborn children and their capacity to feel significant pain.
The legislation also requires abortion practitioners to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Having the ability to admit patients is important because abortions frequently pose medical problems for women and sometimes result in life-threatening injuries that would require them to be transported immediately to a legitimate medical center that can properly treat them.
