Lawmakers Ignore Majority of Indiana Voters, Advance Slew of Anti-Abortion Bills
For Immediate Release: July 30, 2022
Indianapolis, IN – Indiana lawmakers advanced a suite of anti-abortion policies on Friday and Saturday, signaling the end of safe and legal abortion care in Indiana. The Republican Supermajority is unapologetically denying the majority of voters in Indiana access to basic care supported across party lines. Polling last week revealed that 71% of Hoosiers, including 58% of Republicans and 62% of independents, say it is important to them that people in their state have access to all reproductive health care options, including abortion. Yet Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 2, and HB 1001 would not only deny Hoosiers the care they want but would have catastrophic impacts on Indiana’s already dire maternal mortality crisis.
In addition to an outright ban on abortion brought by S.B. 1, H.B. 1001 and S.B. 2 will funnel money to so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ or ‘pregnancy resource centers’ and build a network of fake health clinics known to lie to patients about whether they are pregnant, how far along they are in their pregnancies, and the safety and legality of accessing abortion care: this is an irresponsible and dangerous use of tax dollars.
Indiana faces one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, and if these bans are allowed to become law, an estimated 1.5 million women of reproductive age and more people who can get pregnant would be cut off entirely from access to abortion care in Indiana.
The following statement can be attributed to LaKimba DeSadier, Indiana State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates:
“We cannot let extremist Indiana lawmakers take away our control over our own bodies,” said LaKimba DeSadier, Indiana State Director for PPAA. “Forced pregnancy, which is what this legislature is promising, does not stop people from needing abortion care. What it does is separate those who can afford to leave the state and access care from those who cannot. These are policies against the poor—politics in exchange for people’s lives. Abortion is health care and we need to be doing everything in our power to protect it. If this legislative body won’t do it, Hoosiers will vote this November to make sure the next round will.”
S.B. 1 and S.B. 2 now head to the House. H.B. 1001 now heads to the Senate.
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Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, Serving AK, HI, ID, IN, KY, WA (PPAA) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization educating residents and policymakers about reproductive health issues in Alaska, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky and Washington. PPAA lobbies and educates to advance Planned Parenthood's mission, and engages in limited electoral activities.