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Friday, March 29, 2024

Thousands stand up for women’s rights: Controversial abortion bill causes uproar throughout the state

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Breezy 40-degree weather in Indianapolis didn’t stop more than 1,200 women and men from shouting “Fire Mike Pence” while raising protest signs in the air from the stairs and lawn of the Indiana Statehouse. The attendees are furious with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence after he signed controversial House Bill (HB) 1337 into law last month, establishing a lengthy list of restrictions linked to abortions for women. Along with lighting a vicious fire under the governor, hundreds of people stood on the stairs of the statehouse holding pieces of paper displaying the names of the 97 legislators who voted to pass the bill, as hundreds of other attendees shouted in unison for opposition to the bill.

The measure, authored by Republican Rep. Casey Cox, addresses abortion and installs a wide variety of restrictions including, “Prohibits a person from performing an abortion if the person knows that the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion solely because of: (1) the race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the fetus; or (2) a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of the fetus having Down syndrome or any other disability.” Critics of the bill believe the legislation will push women to carry potentially dangerous pregnancies to term.

“Gov. Pence, I have a message for you,” said Annette Ross, one of the rally organizers. “Please stop passing destructive bills. I’m getting too old to organize rallies. Since Pence signed HB 1337, there has been a misunderstanding surrounding this bill. One woman asked me if she would go to jail if she had a miscarriage. It is our hope that we will address the legal, medical, emotional aspects of this bill.”

“Set your clocks back 43 years” were the words accompanying a wire coat hanger on a sign one of the rally attendees held. Some other signs held by protestors read: “Keep abortion safe and legal,” “Abortion is health care,” “We will not go quietly back to the 1950s,” and several other wire hangers were bent to outline the state of Indiana.

Indiana Capitol Police estimate about 1,200 to 1,500 people attended the rally.

With the passage of the bill, Indiana, like North Dakota, will be able to restrict women’s access to an abortion if their reason for the procedure is not declared “good enough.” If a doctor does follow through with the procedure, he or she can be sued for wrongful death. In addition to these restrictions, women will be required by law to arrange a burial or cremation of the aborted fetus and to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus within 18 hours of the approved procedure.

“Those unborn children are Hoosiers and they have constitutional rights,” House Speaker Brian Bosma said after the vote, as reported by the Associated Press. “We’re not making a determination about women’s health. We are trying to protect the right of the unborn; they cannot speak for themselves.”

This is Pence’s second time making national headlines for a controversial bill. In 2015 he passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that was criticized for discriminating against the LGBTQ and minority communities.

A photo of Pence is the profile picture on Facebook and Twitter for an organization called “Periods for Pence” which is serving as an outlet for women to share their thoughts on HB 1337 and to update the governor on issues they experience as a result of their menstruation cycles. One tweet from March 30 states, “Contact @GovPenceIN to report your periods in response to HEA1337! Because it IS his business, now!”

The campaign urges supporters, both men and women, to contact the governor — and Republican Sen. Liz Brown and Republican Rep. Peggy Mayfield, the only women involved in the creation of the legislation — to express their concerns.

Elle Roberts, creator of grassroots organization shehive, also spoke during the rally and expressed the importance of voting and other social issues.

“…the decision to have a child or not have a child, and raise a family in a healthy environment, is directly impacted by poverty, by education, by housing, (and a host of social injustices).”

Roberts continued, “But this is not the action. We need to go out and vote. And we do not need to leave this at Mike Pence. We’ve got 97 names up here (names of legislators who voted for HB 1337). Get them out. Let’s go, let’s go!”

When attendee Janine Dotson was asked her opinion on the bill she simply stated, “Women will not go back.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK) filed a lawsuit April 7 against the Indiana State Department of Health, prosecutors of several counties and the state medical licensing board to block enforcement of HB 1337.

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