The Indiana legislature has passed a law prohibiting practically all forms of abortion
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade in June, Indiana has been the only state to pass a law outlawing abortion with only a few of exceptions.
SB1 was approved 28-19 by the Republican-controlled state Senate after being passed 62-38 by the Republican-controlled state House the previous day.
Replaces the present 22-week abortion prohibition with a near-total abortion ban in the state’s legislation The exception to this rule is where the life of the pregnant woman is in jeopardy or when rape or incest is committed before the foetus reaches 10 weeks gestation.
Using telehealth medicine to obtain an abortion is prohibited by the bill, and patients must instead meet with a doctor in person.
Indiana is now one of the “makes Indiana one of the most pro-life states in the nation,” Republican Rep. Wendy McNamar proclaimed at a post-House vote press conference, referring to McNamara’s legislation as the bill’s primary sponsor.
It is now on its way to the desk of Governor Eric Holcomb. Upon Holcomb’s signature, the bill will take effect on September 15th.
Several revisions to the measure were approved by the state senate earlier last week, including the removal of exclusions for rape and incest.
“exceptions equal death.” stated Republican state senator Michael Young, who proposed the amendment.
“And what you’re telling me is if they rape the woman, we oughta kill the baby,” Young said as much during the argument, according to sources. “That is not right, and I will never, ever accept that.”
There were 18 Republicans who supported rape and incest exceptions in place in a 28-18 vote against the amendment, which failed to pass.
Repealing the bill’s provisions for rape and incest was also an attempt by Republicans in the state house on Thursday, but it was defeated.
The House of Representatives also made certain changes to the Senate’s bill. For rape and incest victims, the Senate bill authorised abortions up to eight weeks gestation and up to 12 weeks gestation for individuals younger than 15, which the House reduced to 10 weeks.
Additionally, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate a section of the law that required rape and incest victims to file an affidavit attesting to the attack before being allowed to get an abortion.
