A special committee of the Indiana General Assembly met for more than four hours Monday to discuss Senate Bill 1, which would ban abortions unless the procedure is necessary to prevent “substantial permanent harm” to the mother’s life. Republicans control the state legislature.
The GOP-drafted bill would also ban abortion clinics from performing surgical abortions and require personal dispensing of an abortion-inducing drug used in medical abortion. It will include exceptions in cases of rape or incest, as long as the pregnant woman provides the doctor with an affidavit attesting to the rape or incest.
The meeting of the state Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee featured a wide-ranging public debate with dozens of individuals, from doctors to religious leaders to private citizens, expressing their opinions on the bill. While some opposed the legislation for the restrictions it places on abortions, others objected to what they described as vague language and proposed exemptions in the measure.
While many states across the country are reviewing their laws following last month’s Supreme Court ruling, particular attention has been paid to Indiana after a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio crossed state lines to get an abortion. Indiana currently allows abortions up to 20 weeks after conception (or 22 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period). And last week, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Indiana to try to enforce a law that restricts access to abortion for minors that had been blocked by lower courts. State Senate Republican leaders said they hope to have a final vote on SB1 by Friday to send it to the state House for consideration. If passed, the bill would take effect on September 1.
Speaking before the committee on Monday, several speakers invoked their faith, and one woman voiced her opposition to the bill, citing her fertility battle.
Ariel Reim called the proposed legislation “disgusting,” saying it would likely affect her ability to have a baby because she is at very high risk of stillbirth or miscarriage.
“Who gets to decide when my life is really at risk? Who gets to decide when fetal abnormalities are sufficiently fatal?” Reim asked. “When is the line enough and how many women must die before it is drawn?”
Dr. Mary Ott, a pediatrician, told lawmakers she opposes the bill because “access to safe and legal abortion is an essential component of … reproductive health care.”
“Abortion bans pose a threat to the health and well-being of Indiana’s youth, impacting physical, mental health, educational and economic outcomes, including higher adolescent maternal mortality,” Ott said, adding that the proposed legislation politicizes what should be a personal decision and will exacerbate health disparities among people of color.
Meanwhile, Dr. Tyler Johnson, who is running for the state Senate, said he supports the intent of the bill, but argued it could be manipulated as written because of what he called “vague” wording.
“I am asking that we remove or refine the wording of the exemption, protect all unborn children, and impose appropriate criminal penalties for intentionally and needlessly taking the life of an unborn child,” he said.
While Indiana is the only state currently holding a special session to consider restrictive abortion legislation following the Supreme Court’s ruling, several other states are either planning or have opened the door to a possible return for a special legislative session. New York and Wisconsin have already held special sessions with abortion-related legislation on the agenda.
Democratic focus
Abortion rights have become a focus among Democrats ahead of the November 2022 midterm elections. Vice President Kamala Harris held a roundtable with state lawmakers in Indianapolis on Monday, telling them the court’s ruling “takes away a constitutional right that is recognized by the people of America – America’s Women’ and highlighting how the court’s decision could put other established rights at risk.
The vice president did not respond to questions from the press about whether she would support President Joe Biden declaring a national or public health emergency over the issue, which members of Congress and reproductive rights groups continue to call for, but Biden has yet to act.
The trip marked the latest in a series of visits by Harris around the country focused on reproductive rights since the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning federal abortion rights.
At a meeting with lawmakers in Richmond, Va., on Saturday, Harris pledged support for the Biden administration’s protection of abortion rights, while slamming Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin for promising to sign an anti-abortion bill into law.
“The governor of Virginia, I read, says he will, and I quote ‘gladly’, sign a bill to take away reproductive rights. So I’d also like to be clear that I’m fully aware of the context in which we’re meeting in terms of what this is going to mean for the people of Virginia,” Harris told a group of state delegates on Saturday. “And what is directly at stake in this state, in terms of their rights, and particularly their rights as it relates to a governor who is apparently willing to restrict and even ban abortion based on an interpretation of the words that has uttered.’
Elsewhere, Kansas will let voters consider the issue Aug. 2 during the primary election, making it the first state to vote on an amendment to the state constitution related to abortion, which is currently legal up to 20 weeks after fertilization (or 22 weeks after the abortion the mother’s last menstrual period). It’s also one of several states that people from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri travel to for abortions.
This headline and story were updated with additional details on Monday.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc, Rebecca Rees and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
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