Vol. 80/No. 16 April 25, 2016
(front page)
Repeal Indiana law that restricts right to choose
‘We won’t go back to days of illegal abortion’
HEA 1337, signed by Gov. Mike Pence March 24, bans abortions performed because of a “diagnosis of Down syndrome or any other disability.” Posing cynically as a civil rights measure, the law also prohibits abortion based on the “race, color, sex … national origin or ancestry” of the fetus. And it mandates that fetal remains that are aborted or miscarried be buried or cremated, adding additional costs to the woman.
The new law requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital or an agreement with a doctor who does, renewed yearly. It also says a woman must have the “opportunity” to view an ultrasound and hear a fetal heart tone 18 hours before an abortion, requiring two appointments. Such restrictions have already reduced the number of abortion providers in the state to six, down from 12 in 2011.
Indiana is one of many states where government officials have imposed increasingly onerous restrictions on abortion access. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a bill March 30 requiring doctors to administer anesthesia to any woman having an abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy or later, adding unnecessary risk to the procedure.
“This is my first protest ever,” said Theresa Carper, 22, a DePauw University student, at the rally. “This is so important, because pregnancy must be a woman’s choice and nobody else’s,” her friend Courtenay Graham added.
“It’s about abortion, but it’s a question of wages too,” said Ashley Moore, a 26-year-old warehouse worker, pointing out that there is no union at her job.
“We discussed this law and the protests against it at our Women of Steel meeting last week,” said Rosa Maria Rodriguez, a steelworker in East Chicago and an officer of United Steelworkers Local 1010. “We then took it right to the floor of the union meeting,” winning support, including from the men. “A large percentage of our members are women and it has to be our choice,” she said. “There’s no other voice loud enough to be heard like a union.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect on July 1. The suit calls the law unconstitutional because it violates the 14th Amendment guarantee of the right to due process and equal protection under the law by imposing an “undue burden on a woman’s right to choose.”
“The ACLU stands firmly against discrimination in all forms, but that isn’t what this law is about,” Jane Henegar, executive director of the Indiana ACLU, told the media. “Unnecessary restrictions, like those recently signed into law, demean women and threaten the quality of their health care.”
Related articles:
Rallies in Poland seek to defend, extend legal abortion
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