Indiana is once again at the center of a heated national debate after Governor Mike Pence signed a controversial abortion bill Friday. Pence said in a statement the legislation protects the unborn while allowing an exception for the life of the mother.
The wide-ranging legislation prohibits abortions under certain conditions and requires aborted or miscarried fetuses to be buried or cremated.
It isn't a bill that was split along party lines; some Republicans spoke out against the legislation and how it moved through the statehouse.
While some tout the bill as a way to prevent discrimination, opponents worry about the potential health and legal ramifications.
Supporters Say Bill Will Prevent Discrimination
The happiness on 8-year-old Tommy O'Callaghan's face reflects the impact he has on his family's life.
When we're using fear and misinformation to make judgements about the worth of a life, then to me that's prejudice.
"If you talk to most families who have a child with Down syndrome they'll tell you the child is a joy in their life," says his mother Mary O'Callaghan.
Tommy is the youngest of five children and the only one living with Down syndrome. But to O'Callaghan, he's just like the rest of her kids.
That's why she's in favor of House Enrolled Act 1337 which, among other things, bans abortions solely because of the fetus' race, sex or disability.
"There was something probably about the immediacy of holding this sweet baby in my arms who was so beautiful. And I was really just frankly heartbroken to contemplate the enormous loss of lives of children who looked just like him in our country," O'Callaghan says.
O'Callaghan has a PhD in developmental psychology and testified at the statehouse in favor of the abortion ban earlier this year.
She believes allowing people to abort fetuses because of disabilities is a form of discrimination.
"I don't think we as a society want to be in the position of making statements about the relative value of one life versus another," she says. "I don't think that was the original intent of Roe v. Wade."
Opponents Argue Legislation Aimed At Discouraging Abortion
While supporters of the bill say it will prevent discrimination, opponents argue it does the opposite.
"It is more likely in case of race and sex bans that pregnant people of color are the ones who will be most targeted by these bans because it is those stereotypes against these communities that will play out in the doctor's office as those patients try to explain themselves and the doctor tries to determine whether or not these people are telling the truth," says Harmony Glenn, an Indy Feminists board member.
It's hard to find an adjective that truly describes just how bad this is going to get.
Glenn and dozens of women from the grassroots group delivered petitions to the statehouse last week asking Governor Mike Pence to veto the legislation.
They're unhappy with how, among other things, legislators handled the issue.
After a senate bill focusing on the abortion ban failed to get a hearing in the house, lawmakers added the measure to a house bill focusing on the disposal of fetal remains.
"We're dealing with mandates that, rather than supporting people at a time when they most need accurate information, compassionate support, are designed to shame, demean, coerce, for no reason at all other to attempt to discourage people from accessing what is a safe and legal procedure," Glenn says.
Planned Parenthood Says It Will Challenge Law
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky says it plans to file a lawsuit to block the legislation.
Legal experts say Indiana's abortion law will be among the most restrictive in the country. It's part of a trend that started a few years ago when there was a broad shift to Republican-controlled state legislatures.
And Indiana University Law Professor David Orentlicher says Indiana's bill has the potential to create a chilling effect.
"If because you're worried you'll be prosecuted even when you're doing the right thing, even when you're within the law, if the concern is the law could be interpreted, it's susceptible to different understandings and the court might interpret it differently and subject you to liability, that's a reason to strike a law down," he says.
There are also questions about how the legislation will be enforced.
It would require proof that a woman sought an abortion for one of the prohibited reasons – something that could be hard to demonstrate.
"In all pregnancies there's a risk to a woman's health," Orentlicher says. "So a woman can always say, ‘I'm choosing an abortion because of the risk to my health.' And, as a constitutional matter, you cannot trade off one person's health for another."
You can read the full text of the bill below.
