Gov. Mike Pence signed a ban on abortions based on race, disability or gender into law Thursday.
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Planned Parenthood of IN and Kentucky, which operates a Merrillville abortion clinic, already is planning to seek a preliminary injunction to stop the law – which it describes as “pro-birth” and not “pro-life” – from taking effect.
And Mike Fichter, CEO of Indiana Right to Life, commented, “By signing the dignity for the unborn bill, Gov. Pence has again signified his commitment to protecting life”.
And it could make IN the first state IN the country to require that fetal remains be buried or cremated at the woman’s expense, rather than treated as medical waste.
North Dakota is the only US state that prohibits abortions based on fetal anomalies. “It is clear that the governor is more comfortable practicing medicine without a license than behaving as a responsible lawyer, as he picks and chooses which constitutional rights are appropriate”, the group’s head, Betty Cockrum, said in a statement.
A bill HSPA opposed throughout the 2016 legislative session – that would have allowed private university police departments to keep more records secret than public police departments – will not go into law. The governor’s office says Pence signed the bill on Thursday. Women who request such abortions will face no legal liability.
The debate over the abortion bill brings attention back to Pence, who found himself with significant national media attention previous year when he signed the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics said could be used to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on the basis of freedom of religion. Opponents of the law also fear women may have to undergo complex procedures during their pregnancy to support the fetus, which would needlessly pose a danger to their health, reported WISTV. A woman must explicitly state her reason for seeking an abortion, and several pro-life Republican legislators spoke out against the legislation, saying the restrictions are excessive, intrusive or improperly vetted.
Indiana Right to Life praised Pence for signing the bill. The governor’s signature seemingly ends a long fight for the state’s Republican lawmakers, who managed to pass a similar bill previous year, but that proposal was halted in the Indiana House of Representatives.
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Late last week, Fort Wayne’s Journal Gazette urged Pence to “veto this hastily passed, constitutionally dubious, and morally muddled bill”.
