Support Science: Veto HB 1577 and Protect Health Care Access

Governor Eric Holcomb, 

People across Indiana need you to do the right thing and veto HB 1577. Health care providers, medical experts, and community-based organizations are calling on you to trust science and stand up for your constituents against politicized attacks that restrict access to health care, including abortion care. 

It is a disgrace that even during a public health crisis, the Indiana General Assembly wasted valuable time to pass House Bill 1577, a clearly unconstitutional bill that peddles the dangerously misleading lie that medication abortion can be ‘reversed.’

HB 1577 never should have made it to your desk, and unless you veto this bill, you are allowing ideology to take precedence over medical science.

Abortion is one of the safest medical procedures, and this bill is another effort to shame, judge, and stigmatize pregnant people who seek safe, legal abortion, and to put more barriers on access to health care. With this and other bills, Indiana politicians are fixated on preventing people from accessing the care they need.

In fact, only Louisiana has passed more restrictions on abortion care than Indiana. The web of restrictions on abortion in Indiana is nearly impenetrable without the politically-motivated requirements of HB 1577—with 70 percent of Indiana women already living in counties without an abortion provider. On top of centuries of systemically racist health care policies, these restrictions compound the barriers Black communities and people of color already experience in accessing medical care.

It is time to stop this crusade, and instead focus on the public health crises at hand—COVID-19 and systemic racism. 

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) describes “so-called abortion ‘reversal’ procedures” as “unproven and unethical.” Indeed, ACOG and the American Medical Association (“AMA”) agree that there is no reliable evidence that medication abortions can, in fact, be ‘reversed’ through a course of treatment. 

The chair of the Indiana Legislative Black Caucus, Representative Robin Shackleford, said, “This body should be promoting patient safety and proven medical science, not unproven theories. This bill requires not only this information be included in the informed consent paperwork, but also share it verbally with the patient. To be clear about what this means: we are poised to pass a bill that forces doctors to lie to patients.”

To be clear: There is no such thing as abortion ‘reversal.’ It’s not real and simply not based in medicine. No reputable medical organization has endorsed this harmful experiment.

We stand in strong opposition against HB 1577, legislation that guts science and threatens our health, safety, and lives.

The Indiana state legislature has turned its back on protecting our health and rights. Allowing HB 1577 to become law by sitting silently would make you complicit in exacerbating this public health crisis. The only appropriate action is to veto HB 1577. 

Governor Holcomb, the people of Indiana are watching. Do you stand with science and medicine? 

 

Signed, 

All-Options 

American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana

Center for Reproductive Rights 

Health Advocacy and Privacy Alliance 

Indiana Black Legislative Caucus 

Indivisible-Greater Lafayette

Indiana Minority Health Coalition

Indiana Young Democrats

Indy Feminists 

League of Women Voters-Indiana 

League of Women Voters-Lafayette Chapter 

League of Women Voters-Muncie Chapter 

Monroe County NOW 

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum-IN Chapter 

Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates-Indiana

Pro Choice South Bend 

Showing Up for Racial Justice-Greater Lafayette Indiana 

Unitarian Universalist Church-Bloomington 

Whole Women’s Health Alliance 

Younger Women’s Task Force-Greater Lafayette Chapter 

Indiana Black Legislative Caucus 

Indiana Democrats

Family Medicine Student Interest Group at IUSM

Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP) at IUSM

Caitlin Bernard, MD, MSCI, FACOG

Tracey A. Wilkinson, MD, MPH

Senator Jean Breaux

Senator J.D. Ford

Senator Karen Tallian

Senator Shelli Yoder

Representative Robin Shakleford

Representative Sue Errington

175 medical students across Indiana: 

Lucy Brown, 3rd year medical student

Vijai Kumar Dharla, 3rd year medical student

Brianna Mahnke, 3rd year medical student

Kaylee Tutrow, 3rd year medical student 

Christian Huntington, 1st year medical student

Julian Tyte, 1st year medical student

Madeline Birch, 1st year medical student

Sarah Abdel-Mageed, 3rd year medical student 

Caitlyn Mulcahey, 1st year medical student

Celine Aslinia, 1st year medical student

Jay Chopra, 1st year medical student

Jourdan Owens, 1st year medical student

Vickie Cook, 1st year medical student 

Katherine Trudeau, 1st year medical student

Olivia Murray, 1st year medical student

Joey Ballard, 1st year medical student 

Kristen Buss, 1st year medical student

Trevor Poplewko, 4th year medical student

Maya Lee, 1st year medical student

Kendall Burgett, 4th year medical student

Sydney Keller, 3rd year medical student

Cynthia Wu, 1st year medical student

Regina Lee, 4th year medical student

Abigail Brenner, 4th year medical student

Pooja Pandita, 4th year medical student 

Aubrey Kenefick, 3rd year medical student

Megan Eigsti, 1st year medical student

Alexandria Carter, 1st year medical student

Ruhani Sansoya, 1st year medical student

Allison Irwin, 3rd year medical student

Erin Becker, 3rd year medical student 

Shelby Lanie, 3rd year medical student

Clay Bowes, 3rd year medical student

Jordan Finch, 1st year medical student

Alexandra Reisinger, 1st year medical student

Evan Wethington, 4th year medical student

Sarah Komanapalli, 3rd year medical student

Nimisha Kumar, 4th year medical student soon to start OB-GYN residency

Katlyn Sawyer, 4th year medical student

Kirsten Lewis, 4th year medical student

Samantha Rodriguez, 1st year medical student

Sarah Huber, 4th year medical student

Emily Barron, 1st year medical student

Deena Mohamed, 4th year medical student

Emily Coleman, 4th year medical student

Samantha Palma, 3rd year medical student 

Breanne Burgess, 3rd year medical student

Amira Kupty, 3rd year medical student

Alexandra Hochstetler, 3rd year medical student

Alissa Haas, 1st year medical student

Claire Marks, 3rd year medical student

Amy Fraser, 4th year medical student 

Olivia Neese, 3rd year medical student

Kéyana A. Foster, 1st year medical student

Madison Harris, 4th year medical student

Stephanie Younker, 4th year medical student

Meghan Cusack, 4th year medical student 

Sierra Crowe, 1st year medical student 

Erika Robertson, 1st year medical student

Alexandra McKinzie, 3rd year medical student

Megan Read, 4th year medical student

Catherine Burns, 3rd year medical student

Brenna Miller, 1st year medical student

Leah Burroughs, 1st year medical student

Erin Bammann, 4th year medical student

Mahera Husain, 3rd year medical student

Rebecca Sides, 4th year medical student

Samantha Melo, 4th year medical student

Kelsey Fulton, 1st year medical student

Meghna Peesapati, 2nd year medical student

Sanjana Sai, 3rd year medical student 

Chelsey Witsberger, 4th year medical student

Hannah Bozell, 3rd year medical student

Brianna Beer, 2nd year medical student

Alexander Nelson, 3rd year medical student

Rebecca Nunge, 3rd year medical student

Leah Dauterman, 1st year medical student

Meera Patel, 1st year medical student

Raiven Owusu, 3rd year medical student 

Neela Yar, 2nd year medical student

Rayanne Pancoast, 2nd year medical student

Vanessa Gehring, 4th year medical student

Anjali Prakash, 4th year medical student

Stephanie Boldt, 3rd year medical student

Marielle Cabe, 3rd year medical student

Abigail Hadley, 4th year medical student

Willa Sasso, 1st year medical student 

Juan Manuel Sanchez Castro, 1st year medical student

Cynthia Ziwawo, 1st year medical student

Rebeka Mercker, 1st year medical student

Katelyn Pickerell, 1st year medical student

Alyssa Michaud, 1st year medical student

Eashan Kumar, 1st year medical student

Daniel Armounfelder, medical student

Catherin Morocho, 1st year medical student

Alex O’Connor, medical student

Marisa Hochstetler, medical student

Victoria Engel, medical student

Hannah Inman, medical student

Matt Thornburg, 1st year medical student

Divya Udayan, 3rd year medical student

Abduallah Elsayed, 1st year medical student

Chiara Pavón, 1st year medical student

Robert M. Saldivar, 2nd year medical student

Melody Wickstrom, 1st year medical student

Mira Prabhakar, 1st year medical student

Evan Keiser, 3rd year medical student

Luci Hulsman, 1st year medical student

Minal Patel, 3rd year medical student

Julie Vaughan, medical student

Sanjna Vinze, medical student

Taylor Burger, medical student

Julie Vaughan, 3rd year medical student

Corbin Cox, PharmD, 1st Year Medical Student

Kayla Higgins, 1st year medical student

Neeta Patwari, 4th year medical student 

Tori Clouse, 4th Year Medical Student

Alexus Gonzalez, 3rd year medical student 

Samantha McCarty, 1st year medical student

Roshan Kaphle, 4th year medical student

Adaline Heitz, 1st year medical student

Chinade Roper, 1st year medical student

Courtney Casbon, medical student

Chaenny Sim, 1st year medical student

Alex Woodcock, 1st year medical student

Benjamin Freije, 1st year medical student

Paul Muldoon, 1st year medical student

Sarah Hopfer, 3rd year medical student

Lauren Jarzembowski, 2nd year medical student

Brian Moreno, 3rd year medical student

Elyse Feder, 3rd year medical student

Siri Sarvepalli, 4th year medical student 

Yamilet Guerra, 3rd year medical student

Christina Salgado, 3rd year medical student

Ryan Miller, 1st year medical student

Varun Rao, 1st year medical student

Aileen O'Hayer, medical student

Sameer Leley, 1st year medical student

Kaitlin Wendel, 1st year medical student

Erin Bontrager, medical student

Kristen Swanson, graduating medical student

Petr Sliva, graduating medical student

Wesley Boland, 1st year medical student

Katie Wong, 1st year medical student

Jara Crawford, 3rd year medical student

Abhipri Mishra, 3rd year medical student

Brandon Toliver, 1st year medical student 

Stella Protopapas, 1st year medical student

Brandon Watson, medical student

Margaret Bello, 3rd year medical student

Charles Ryan, 1st year medical student

Kazeerat Adedokun, medical student

Meghan Willoughby, 1st year medical student

John Verhey, 3rd year medical student

Abby Settle, 1st year medical student

Vasu Sheel, 3rd year medical student

Inez Yu, 1st year medical student

Avery Chadd, 1st year medical student

Molly Frank, 1st year medical student

Natalie Cox, 1st year medical student

Jackson Griffith-Linsley, 1st year medical student

Alexis Holmes, 1st year medical student

Lindsey Wells, 4th year medical student

Christopher Blanco, 3rd year medical student

Juliet Hardesty, 1st year medical student 

Annalise Jacobs, 4th year medical student

Amna Yaqub, 1st year medical student

Tanvi Asthana, 1st year medical student

Lynn Alsatie, medical student

Michael Spors, medical student

Juma Daniels, 1st year medical student

Aish Thamba, 1st year medical student

Aaron Webb, 1st year medical student

Madeline Smith, 4th year medical student

Priyanka Prasad, 1st year medical student

Keeley Newsom, 3rd year medical student

Laura Vater, MD, MPH

Jasleen Sandhu, 4th year medical student 

Katarina Fabre, 4th year medical student