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Indiana became the first state in the country after the fall of Roe v. Wade to pass broad limits on abortion access, after Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill Friday that constitutes a near-total ban on the procedure.
The Republican-dominated state Senate approved the legislation 28-19 on Friday in a vote that came just hours after Indiana’s lower house passed it. The bill, which will enter into force on September 15, only allows abortion in cases of rape, incest, lethal fetal abnormality or when the procedure is necessary to prevent serious risks to health or death.
Abortion rights supporters crowded the hallways of the Indiana Statehouse throughout the day as lawmakers voted, some holding signs that read “You can only ban safe abortions” and “Abortion is health care” .
In a statement released shortly after signing the bill into law, Holcomb said he had “clearly stated” after the fall of Roe that he would be willing to support anti-abortion legislation. He also highlighted “carefully negotiated” exceptions to the law, which he said address “some of the unthinkable circumstances that a woman or an unborn child could face.”
Before settling on the exceptions, Republican lawmakers disagreed on how far the law should go, with some GOP members siding with Democrats to require abortion to be legal in cases of rape and incest .
Abortion rights organizations were quick to rebuke the law. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the vote “was cruel and will be devastating for pregnant women and their families in Indiana and throughout the region.”
“Hoosiers didn’t want this,” Johnson said.
In a statement, the anti-abortion group Indiana Right to Life opposed the exceptions and said the new law did not go far enough to reduce access to abortion.
Kansans strongly reject amendment aimed at restricting abortion rights
Indiana Republicans’ push to restrict access to abortion stands in stark contrast to overwhelming support from voters in Kansas, where an attempt this week to strip abortion protections in another traditionally conservative state. This victory is likely to boost the Democratic Party’s hope that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade it will energize voters ahead of the midterm elections and give Republicans reason to consider the potential consequences of pursuing tighter abortion regulations.
Unlike many of its predominantly conservative neighboring states in the Midwest, Indiana did not have an “active law” on the books that would immediately ban abortion when Roe was overturned Because the procedure had been legal in the state up to 22 weeks, Indiana became the destination for many who wanted to terminate their pregnancies.
Cutting this “critical access point” can force people to travel “hundreds of miles or carry pregnancies against their will,” the American Civil Liberties Union said.
Most recently, a 10-year-old rape victim had to travel to Indianapolis for an abortion after she was denied one in her home state of Ohio. The case sparked outrage among abortion rights advocates, was criticized by President Biden and drew international attention.
The OB/GYN who provided the care, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, has faced threats and harassment. Her legal team is looking to file a defamation suit against the Indiana attorney general, whose office is investigating how the abortion case was handled.
Kim Bellware contributed to this report.