Kamala Harris speaks out about abortion at the Indiana Statehouse
Abortion rights on the agenda for Vice President Kamala Harris, who spoke to lawmakers a block from the Indiana Statehouse.
Robert Scheer, Indianapolis Star
An Indiana Senate committee voted to add criminal penalties to a bill that would ban most abortions, after backlash from anti-abortion groups who said it did not go far enough to restrict abortions.
Under the amended bill, doctors who perform abortions, except in cases of rape, incest to protect the life of the mother or fatal fetal abnormalities, could face one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. These penalties match the penalties doctors face under current Indiana law for performing an abortion after 22 weeks after the last menstrual period.
The Senate Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee also limited at what point in someone’s pregnancy someone can request an abortion in cases of rape and incest. Pregnant people age 15 and younger can have an abortion up to 12 weeks after fertilization. Those 16 and older can have an abortion only up to eight weeks after fertilization.
The committee passed the amendment on a 7-5 vote, with only Sen. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, joining Democrats to reject the amendment. Democrats questioned why lawmakers settled on these restrictions in cases of rape and incest.
More: Hundreds of abortion rights protesters gather at statehouse, clash with several anti-abortion activists
“Is that really enough time for a woman to find out if she’s pregnant and make a decision whether to have that abortion or not?” Sen. Tim Lannan, D-Anderson said during the committee. “It seems to be a rush.”
The bill’s author, Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, said the amendment was proposed because of concerns about “ambiguity” in the bill.
Lawmakers passed several other amendments, including one that would require a signed affidavit from rape victims to be added to a pregnant woman’s health record in order to obtain an abortion.
The committee later voted to take the bill out of committee on a 7-5 vote, with Messmer joining every Democrat who voted against it. During the vote, anti-abortion protesters in the chamber could be heard singing “Amazing Grace” through the walls of the chamber.
Messmer said he voted no because none of the witnesses supported the bill and every anti-abortion organization that contacted him told him to vote against it.
Two other Republicans voted in favor of the bill but said they wanted to see changes in the Senate: Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, and Sen. Eric Bassler, R-Washington.
“We have what I think everybody believes is a bad bill,” Charbonneau said. “And I’m going to vote yes today, and I guess my desire is to make a bad bill less bad.”
Bray interrupts the committee’s testimony
The amendments came after more than 300 people registered to testify on Senate Bill 1 over two days. Senate President Pro Tempore Rodrick Bray stopped testimony after less than a fifth of the signatories each day had testified. Between the two days, the number of witnesses opposing abortion and those supporting abortion rights was almost equal.
Even before the bill was amended, abortion rights supporters were concerned about the bill. They stressed that banning abortion could harm the health of Hoosiers.
Tracy Betz, an attorney representing signatories of a letter opposing the ban because of concerns about the impact on businesses and employees, warned that restricting reproductive rights could drive people out of Indiana.
“Indiana has been incredibly successful in getting people to come here by saying this is a good environment to live in,” Betz said. “But that will change and we fully expect that people will leave.”
Before the committee’s amendment Tuesday, a number of people who gave public testimony called for a ban without a rape exception. They also criticized the bill’s lack of criminal penalties for doctors who perform illegal abortions.
“It’s completely unenforceable and as such renders it useless,” said Kathy Humbarger, former executive director of Right to Life of Northeast Indiana. “Please ditch this useless account and start over. You can and should do better.”
Similarly, Indiana Right to Life President Mike Fichter has been vocal about the group’s opposition to the bill as originally introduced, calling it a “weak and troubling” bill.
A spokeswoman for Indiana Right to Life said the organization is waiting to comment on amendments to the bill until they evaluate all the amendments.
What next
Just like the general public’s nuanced views on abortion, Republican lawmakers’ positions on abortion run the gamut, from those who want a total ban to those who want no new restrictions on abortion. Testifiers, on the other hand, often represent people with the most extreme views on issues.
Glick indicated Monday that she has no problem waiting to pass a bill restricting abortion if her caucus can’t agree on a bill. On Tuesday, she clarified that she personally liked some aspects of the original bill better than the amended version, but needed to reflect her group’s input.
“Am I happy with the bill? Not exactly,” Glick said during the committee. “Nor was I happy when it was drafted. It’s a very difficult process, but it’s a very difficult question. It involves some of the most intimate things that could be discussed.”
The bill could still be amended in the full Senate on Thursday and approved by the full Senate as early as Friday.
The House will then consider the measure. House Speaker Todd Houston, R-Fishers, told reporters Monday that the Senate version of the bill is “a start,” but it’s unclear what changes the House will make once it passes the Senate.
Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270 or email her at kaitlin.lange@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.
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