After Indiana became the first state in the country to pass legislation regarding abortions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, students at Indiana University’s Bloomington campus returned from the summer to a new reality.
Senate Bill 1, the law that bans most abortions in the state of Indiana, takes effect on Sept. 15th. It allows for a few exceptions. Abortions are permitted in the cases of rape and incest, before 10-weeks post-fertilization, to protect the life and physical health of the pregnant woman, and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly.
“I think it's a really bad situation,” IU student Jordan Jaques said. “And hopefully, some legislation can be introduced that could counter some of the effects, but we'll see.”
IU student, Grace Amyx says she’s concerned about the wording of the bill. She says there’s a lot of gray area, and the line between the church and the state seems blurrier than ever before.
Indiana University Student Government recently announced that they will cover the cost of emergency contraceptives for all IU Bloomington students this school year. Students will be able to pick up Plan B at the Student Health Center free of charge.
SB-1 does not address the use and availability of contraceptives in Indiana. Veronica Vernon, Assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice at Butler University, says that it’s a critical piece to the larger puzzle of reproductive rights.
“In the current state, what we're seeing going on across the country is that access to contraception is a concern and contraception does decrease abortions,” she said.
Democratic state Rep. Rita Fleming introduced an amendment to a spending bill that would have allowed pharmacists to write prescriptions for contraceptives without approval from a primary care provider. The bill failed in the house by a single vote.
“That amendment was something that the Indiana pharmacy Association supported and as pharmacists were very excited about in the state,” Vernon said.
The anti-abortion group Indiana Right To Life has lobbied against allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. In a statement obtained by WFPL News, they point out that contraceptives should only be dispensed after a patient sees, “a medical professional for individual counseling and assessment of risks and benefits of all forms of contraception. The risks associated with birth control can be significant for some patients, depending on a variety of factors.”
Fleming still expects the bill to come back up during the regular session in January.
Vernon says the amendment would have helped close a coverage gap that’s prevalent throughout the state.
“We have a significant number of what are called contraceptive deserts. These are locations in the state where it is challenging for women to get access to contraception, or there's no access to contraception, whether that's contraception they can get from a pharmacy, like a pill, or a patch that can be placed on the body or other forms,”she said.
Most recently, Indiana abortion providers have filed a lawsuit against SB-1 claiming that the law violates the Indiana constitution.
The law will limit abortions to hospitals and surgical centers owned by hospitals effectively banning abortion clinics. Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood and Whole Women’s Health Alliance, argue the law is discriminatory. Furthermore, they allege the law is unconstitutionally vague.
ACLU of Indiana is helping lead the lawsuit. In a statement, Legal Director Ken Falk said,
"Implicit in this right, is the right for a woman to make medical decisions regarding her own reproductive health. This ban on abortion will force Hoosiers to carry pregnancies against their will, leading to life-altering consequences and serious health risks."
Indiana Right to Life is confident the suit won’t be successful, saying the state constitution does not grant the right to an abortion and states life is an inalienable right.
IU student AJ Porter says the issue is the ban and it doesn’t reflect what most people in Indiana actually want. “Most people were very moderate on abortion. They're not like super, super pro life. They're not super, super pro choice,” Porter said.
Kansas put the abortion question to voters in the form of a ballot referendum last month. Indiana Republicans dismissed efforts by Democrats to add a public question on the November ballot.
