Indiana could become the next state to ban aboritons and protect the lives of unborn children.
Republican legislators have filed a bill following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade that that would most all abortions with very limited exceptions and the proposal from GOP state senators will be taken up Monday as the state legislature begins its special session. The measure would allow abortions only in very rare instances such as rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Republican state Sen. Sue Glick is the bill sponsor, according to an AP report, and she said the measure would not prohibit contraception nor limit access to treatments for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancies or criminalize women.
“Being pro-life is not about criminalizing women,” Glick said. “It’s about preserving the dignity of life and helping mothers bring new happy, healthy babies in the world.”
Indiana Republicans have pushed through numerous anti-abortion laws over the past decade and the vast majority signed a letter in March supporting a special session to further tighten those laws. But legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb had been tightlipped since the Supreme Court decision over whether they would push for a full abortion ban or allow exceptions.
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The proposal unveiled Wednesday faces at least a couple of weeks of debate. Republican House Speaker Todd Huston didn’t endorse the bill, saying in a statement that, “Our caucus will take time to review and consider the details of the Senate bill, and continue to listen to thoughts and input from constituents across the state.”
Current Indiana law generally prohibits abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy and tightly restricts it after the 13th week. Nearly 99% of abortions in the state last year took place at 13 weeks or earlier, according to a state Health Department report.
Before Indiana lawmakers announced their proposal, the leader of the state’s most prominent anti-abortion group told reporters that the group would pressure legislators to advance a bill “that affirms the value of all life including unborn children” while not taking questions on whether any exceptions would be acceptable.
Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter said the vast majority of Indiana lawmakers have “campaigned as pro-life, they’ve run multiple election cycles as being pro-life.”
“This is not the time when legislators should be drafting legislation that would appear that Roe versus Wade is still in place,” Fichter said. “Roe is no longer in place. The Roe shield is no longer there.”
UPDATE: Indiana Right to Life has notified LifeNews.com that the proposed bill is insufficient and needs to be reworked.
After waiting 50 years for a reversal of Roe vs. Wade, a weak and troubling bill introduced in the Indiana Senate falls far short of ending abortion in Indiana.SB1 contains many troubling issues, including:SB1 allows late term abortions to continue in Indiana, including partial-birth abortions which are never needed to save the life of the mother.SB1’s limited criminal penalties will not be enforced by local prosecutors, such as the one in Marion County, who is on record stating he will not enforce a new law. Indiana Right to Life’s call to give the attorney general the power to prosecute in such cases has been ignored.SB1 requires the ISDH to create new rules for current and future abortion clinics, making it clear the intent is not to end abortions in Indiana.SB1 has numerous instances of vague language that will create loopholes abortion providers will use to continue doing abortions.Take action now to let your state senator know you oppose SB1 as it stands.
As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.
Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
